


Meet The Frosts

by SafyreSky



Series: Crystal Springs [1]
Category: Santa Clause (Movies)
Genre: Blaise Frost, Crystal Springs, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Jacqueline Frost, Other, Winter Frost, frost family - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2018-04-19 20:40:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4760315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SafyreSky/pseuds/SafyreSky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Jack is busy up North making another mess, Mother Nature finds herself a tad overwhelmed with the mess he's already made. She can't do it all alone. Unfortunately for her that means going right to Jack's family to get the help she needs, and dredging up the messy past. [Takes place during TSC3; a sort of origin for Jack]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Problem

**Chapter 1: The Problem**

It wasn't every day Mother Nature felt stressed beyond belief.

Of course, what she did  _was_  stressful. She was the matriarch of all of nature, after all. That in itself was a lot more complex than it sounded. Keeping the balance of  _all_ of nature wasn't the easiest thing to do; thankfully, she didn't have to do it all by herself.

Her lovely (adoptive) daughters, the Season Sisters, helped her greatly. The four girls were, in fact, the literal personification of the seasons. Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter took care of the  _biggest_  part of her job—the seasons themselves. This left the more intricate parts of nature for herself to deal with, though the four women did help her with the big things every so often, inter-seasonal squabbles aside.

This also left her more time to take care of the many issues that arose throughout the world, and more importantly in their homeland. It is a little-known fact, but just west of the North Pole and out into the Arctic Sea lies a vast continent known as Crystal Springs, named for the healing springs at the centre of the continent. It is here that a good majority of your average magical folk choose to make their home; they live peacefully, hidden from mortals and looked over by Mother Nature herself.

Mother Nature had a system. She had balance. Nothing was ever out of place—she and the Season Sisters made  _sure_  of it. What Mother Nature and the youngest of the Season Sisters  _hadn't_ expected, however, was the mischief one Jack Frost tended to cause a lot more frequently than anyone would expect.

Nothing was ever out of place, most of the time. But every so often, something—or in this case, some  _things_ —did end up out of place. And, more often than not, it was all thanks to  _Jack_.

Mother Nature shook her head as she left the warmth of the North Pole's large kitchen. She wondered if the Council as a whole had done the right thing after Jack's  _latest_  shenanigans. Jack staying at the North Pole for community service was definitely concerning her. He was…incredibly jealous of Santa; everyone knew that—and that was putting it nicely. But it was rightly Santa's final decision, since it was  _him_  that Jack had tried to upstage two-hundred and seventy (three) times.

Now, not only did she have to put her duties aside to gather the rest of the cardboard cut outs, she also had a frozen volcano to deal with, geese to send back to Mexico (which she would have to warm up a bit first),  _and_  a tropical snowstorm! A snowstorm in the  _Amazon!_

She could definitely imagine how Santa felt this year.

"It would appear you have your work cut out for you," Father Time said, silently making his way to her side.

She tried to smile, but found it very hard to when the weight of the entire mess she had to clean up hit her. "It would seem so. Perhaps it's best I get some help." She could ask Summer to give her a hand warming things up. Spring could talk to the geese, and Winter could move the snowstorm…of course, considering whose fault this entire mess was, perhaps it was better if she left the two warmer seasons out of this mess. She sighed as she realized her only other option. "I'll have to go visit the Frosts."

Father Time smiled. "I assume Winter is in a talkative mood. Your visit will be about two hours and forty-four minutes. Would you like the seconds?"

Mother Nature inhaled deeply. "No thank you, Father Time. I trust your judgement."

"All the luck," he said, eyes twinkling as he faded into the folds of time, vanishing on the spot.

"I'm going to need it," she said under her breath.

As soon as she reached the outside of the Workshop, Mother Nature disappeared in a flash of bright light. She reappeared outside of a swirling lilac portal, shrouded by trees. The entrance to the large garden she called a home in Crystal Springs.

She rubbed her temples as she stepped through the portal. The visit looming ahead of her and the work she would have to do was giving her a headache. A walk around her garden felt like a good idea. It was a good way for her to organize her thoughts before she did something she really did not want to do and brought Jack's Mother, and perhaps the rest of the family, into this mess.

* * *

Mother Nature was not a procrastinator.

It wasn't in her nature. And it wasn't that she didn't  _enjoy_  seeing Winter and her family; quite the contrary. Visiting Frost Manor was always a delight. It wasn't the Frosts  _themselves_  that caused Mother Nature to go for a stroll in her numerous gardens. Or nearly follow the stroll with a thoughtful soak in the river that ran through her garden. That wasn't the reason she was putting off her visit.

No. The reason she was putting off her visit had to do with the messy history that surrounded the youngest Season's family and her estranged son. She knew this, of course; it happened almost every time she had to go see Winter. Sighing, she turned away from the sparkling river and headed to her greenhouse kitchen, deep in thought.

The greenhouse was large and spacious. Sunlight streamed through the windows, plants growing amongst her counters and cabinets. Spanish moss hung from the cold box, the warmth hugging her as she put on a cup of tea. She wandered outside with her cup, sitting down at her favourite bistro table on the patio alongside the greenhouse.

She loved visiting Winter. She did  _not_  love reminding her daughter of everything that had happened with Jack. Unfortunately for her, the reason for this visit would do just that.

 _Where had everything gone wrong?_  Mother Nature wondered, lost in thought. Perhaps when Winter decided to settle down and start a family—which Mother Nature had never expected any of her daughters to do, really. Fate loved to intervene, of course. It was one of his favourite pastimes. Perhaps this was all his fault, Mother Nature often thought.

Long before Mother Nature had found the Season Sisters and raised them herself, there had been another Mother Nature, the first one, known as Mother Gaia. Back then, Crystal Springs had been ruled by the royal family: Canicus and Serafina Frost, a powerful heat sprite and a brilliant warlock. They had discovered the healing springs and led the magical folk to the continent, and thus Crystal Springs was founded, the people looking to Canicus and Serafina as their rulers.

Mother Gaia was like a councillor to them. She had led them to the springs herself—or so it was said. Back then, Mother Nature was just Tara, Gaia's protégé. And it was way back then when everything began.

Queen Frost and none other than Fate had had a convoluted past; Fate had been angered by a young Serafina, and in an act of petty revenge (such a typical Fate thing, honestly) when Queen Frost found herself with child, Fate had caused the unborn child to become  _two_ —twins. Two boys were born amidst much confusion, also thanks to Fate, and as a result, it was not known which was born first and would inherit the crown.

This really  _was_  where everything had started, Mother Nature was convinced.

Upon their birth, King Frost had called for Gaia and Tara to help them figure out what to do. Gaia had found a slight difference in their hair colour; the one with lighter hair was named Blaise, the one with darker hair Pyros. The King and Queen wondered what to do with the boys; asking Mother Gaia for advice, she had discussed it in depth with Tara, leaving the final decision with her.

So, she had decided. They would be raised alongside each other; after all, one would want to rule, and one would not—it would be their nature; she would know. Thus Blaise and Pyros were not separated, and were raised together. And as Tara became Mother Nature and found the Season Sisters, the boys did in fact grow true to the nature she had predicted. Blaise was every sense of the word good, if a little troublesome at times. Pyros was…quite the opposite; he was quite mean spirited and a little cruel. It was obvious which would make the better ruler. However, it didn't quite work out that way.

Blaise wanted nothing to do with the crown; Pyros wanted it all. He felt he was  _meant_  to rule. When both brothers were well into their twenty hundreds, Pyros took it to the next level. He began a conquest to take over the land by  _force_ ; Blaise was forced to fight the brother he was so fond of.

Soon that conquest went from continent wide to world wide—Pyros wanted the  _world_. The war lasted a thousand years and came to be known as the Millennium War; Pyros going so far as to reveal them to the mortals and take prisoners, including Mother Nature's very own children.

She had been enraged. Enlisting the help of the Witches of the Dark and Light Magics, they managed to get into the prison and take one of the Seasons back at a time. When they came the fourth time, Pyros was ready. With magic unlike any of them had seen before, he defeated the Witches and Mother Nature, leaving Winter trapped.

Spring, Summer and Autumn had explained how each time, Winter had made them go first. They were all very distraught when they were told that it would take days before they could overcome Pyros' magic to get the last sister back. It seemed hopeless.

And that's when Blaise had arrived in the garden, Mother Nature recalled, sipping her tea. Maybe  _that_  was when it had all started. Blaise was a wonderful sprite though and Mother Nature couldn't find it in herself to blame him for anything that happened; especially not when Fate had meddled so much in the  _first_  place!

Blaise had told them of how he had infiltrated his brother's fortress, and had been planting his own men inside of the stronghold for the longest time now. He would be able to bring Winter back easily, no magic necessary. Sure enough, he had; and the two of them had come up with a plan to defeat Pyros and let everyone free.

With a little help from an unexpected source, their plan had worked. With Blaise's forces on the inside  _and_  outside of Pyros' base, he was easily defeated, Winter herself freezing him in his tracks (quite literally). Finally, the war had ended; Crystal Springs was cloaked once again and the two Witches had sealed Pyros away, ending the battle Pyros had started oh so long ago.

Naturally everyone agreed that Blaise would take the crown; King and Queen Frost had stepped down the day after the victory and decided it was time to retire to Rosehaven. Blaise, however, did not want to rule. He decided that his first and only act as King would be to abolish the monarchy and create a balanced system that he would co-run with Mother Nature.

After the battle, Winter had not been herself. It took Mother Nature a few days before it clicked; the experience of the War and becoming a prisoner had done a number to the sprite; she had frozen her heart. She was still pleasant as always, kind and caring…but in an aloof, cold way. She would not open her heart to anyone.

Except for Blaise.

He had made Winter happy; their courtship had slowly warmed her heart and the night Blaise proposed, she had thawed for the second time in her life. Mother Nature hadn't counted on  _any_  of the girls falling in love. There was always so much to do, she hadn't even considered they would! But, Blaise made Winter happy and the two were so in love, that Mother Nature accepted it easily and was (even still to this day) very happy for them. They married, settled down, and soon after had their first child: Jack Frost.

 _Maybe this is where everything really went wrong_ , Mother Nature thought.

When he was a young boy Jack had been very quick to learn, and eager to expand his horizons. When Winter could teach him no more, it was said that he went so far as to break into the afterlife plane of existence, Rosehaven, and learn from the long-retired winter sprites residing there. It didn't take Mother Nature long to realize that much like his Mother before him, Jack was totally frozen, and too a far greater extent.

It was as if there was some kind of unbeknownst evil driving him. He established himself throughout the continent, then throughout the world, earned a mythic status and a seat on the Council of Legendary Figures. It wasn't until his early twentieth centuries, when his parents welcomed a new baby girl, that Jack's misbehaviour came to a rolling stop. They named her Jacqueline (Winter was fond of matching sets of names) and much like her older brother, she too favoured her Mother's powers. Jacqueline was a bouncy child, and was never very far from her brother. It only made sense that when the Legate Law was passed, Jack picked his then four-hundred-year-old sister to take his title should something happen to him.

And then, everything  _really_   went wrong.

Mother Nature felt her heart drop as she sipped her tea, lost in the past. Jack had been the ideal big brother to his sister. Though she curbed his evil tendencies, they never really went away. Finally, one night, Blaise confronted his son.

It didn't matter that Jack had a season to himself, or that he was one of the three most powerful Legendaries on the Council. It wasn't enough. That Santa Claus had chosen  _Jack's_ season,  _Jack's_  time to shine, for his holiday and had all but erased the reputation Jack had once known. Now when it snowed, it was  _Santa_  who everyone thought of first, Christmas over winter…and Jack never liked that.

When Blaise confronted him that night, Jack let it all out. A terrible ice storm started, freezing the continent  _days_  after Jack left for good. He hurt his father, and his mother…and nearly killed his little sister.

The messy history that had  _really_  started it all, Mother Nature thought.

Jacqueline had survived; her parents had healed, though Winter's heart was once again frozen. Perhaps it was one of the ways she managed to function in those first few decades. It wasn't until quite a few centuries later when the Twins were born, favouring Blaise's powers, that things seemed to get better with the Frosts.

Though the Twins helped the family heal, Blaise and Winter never forgot the messy history with their estranged son. And Jacqueline never really understood it—at least, Mother Nature  _assumed_  that was the case. As for the Twins…they didn't even know they  _had_  an older brother; the parents had kept that from them, not wanting the past to upset them as they grew.

Mother Nature sighed, finishing her tea. Now with the reason for today's visit, she would be bringing it all up again.

She could never pinpoint a start for when everything had begun to go wrong. But it gave her a little bit of glee to trace the long history all the way to Fate himself and blame him. "What a terrible sense of humour, that Fate," Mother Nature voiced.

Humourless laughter began to float on the breeze, the winds changing and getting colder. The laughter got louder, a cloaked figure appearing on the seat across from her, the smoke surrounding him making it seem as though he flickered in and out of existence. "It would be if it  _was_  my idea of a joke. Funny it is, a joke it is  _not_."

Mother Nature frowned, carelessly waving her hand. A stronger than necessary wind blew, the hood falling back to reveal milky grey eyes and tied back dark hair. "What are  _you_  doing here? I have a lot to do."

"Really now?" Fate said, leaning forward, a sly grin plastered on his face, eyes narrowed. "I never would have  _guessed_. I assumed it was tea time," he finished, conjuring up a cup for himself.

"Humph." Mother Nature flushed, turning away from Fate. He was one of the only immortals who  _really_  got on Mother Nature's nerves. He was so hard to  _be_  around.

The smoky being snickered. "Joking aside, I  _am_  here for a reason, you know. You go through this every time Frost does something, did you know that? The same train of thought each. And. Every. Time."

"I thought you were deeper than that, Fate." He quirked an eyebrow. "Stating the obvious? That's really beneath you."

"Someone is snippy today. Pre-El Nino?" Fate asked. Mother Nature made a low sound in her throat. "Alright, bad joke, I getchya. It's not stating the obvious, Earth Lady. It's fate. Every time Frost does something that causes you to visit the family, you are fated to have the same train of thought and redirect it all to me. And unfortunately, you are right, Tara."

Mother Nature smiled. "Hmm. Good to know."

"We all make mistakes in our youth, and I am humble enough to admit that I did as well. Things will be changing this year though, Earth Lady, and  _that's_  why I'm here." He leant forward across the table, almost touching noses with Mother Nature. "In order to rectify everything, you need to go visit the Frosts. Yet you sit here dallying. Tit, tit, Mother Gaia would not approve," he sniffed, leaning back and sipping the tea.

Mother Nature stood up angrily. "Don't you  _dare_ -!" she couldn't quite form the words she wanted to say, she was briefly angered so. The worst was, Fate was right; Gaia never liked when things weren't done right away.

She took a deep breath, glaring at Fate. "Well then, I'll be more than happy to take my leave  _now_. I'm afraid tea time has been  _significantly_  ruined for me."

"Thanks."

"That wasn't a complement."

"I take them as I go."

 _Don't let him get to you Tara_ , she thought, breathing deeply once more. She turned away from the table, adjusting her skirts and glaring at Fate one last time. "Don't be here when I get back, you cruel man," she said, disappearing in a bright flash of light.

"Don't I know it," Fate said to the fading light, sipping his tea. A slight smile was on his face. "Don't I  _know_  it."

 


	2. The Frosts

**Chapter 2: The Frosts**

Mother Nature reappeared in another blinding flash of light in front of a set of tall, black, wrought iron gates surrounded by large evergreen trees. She was only a little flustered, she told herself, taking a moment to just breath.

As she took her moment, there was a loud squeak. The gates opened inwards for her, a quaint stone pathway leading up to a large, three storey ivory-bricked mansion. The gates came to a stop, the north wind blowing through the trees.

"Thank you kindly," she said to the gates, walking through. There was a happy sort of squeak as the gates gently closed behind her.

The stone path up to the veranda was surrounded by lovely rose bushes, still blooming even though it was late November. The grassy grounds were covered in a layer of snow, some spots a bit slushy and melted, revealing the light green grass underneath. Some portions were covered in scorch marks.

"Well if it isn't the  _lovely_   Mother Nature!" said a voice. Mother Nature turned to the right, watching as a very tall man with literal fiery hair approached her, a charming smile on his face. "You look radiant, as always," he said, arms open wide. Blaise Frost walked through the rose bushes, bowing very low and grabbing her hand, kissing it.

"And you are charming as ever, Blaise."

"To what do we owe this wonderful visit?" he asked, straightening up and clasping his hands behind his back.

"Can't I just pop on by to give my lovely winter sprite and her fiery beau a visit? Say hello to the grandkids?"

Blaise laughed, throwing his head back. "Of course you can! You know we love when you do," he said, soft smile on his face. "However, more often than not you usually have an ulterior motive when visiting suddenly."

"Whatever do you mean?" Mother Nature feigned innocence, grabbing the elbow Blaise offered her.

"Usually a little birdie tells us of your arrival. I've been outside a majority of the day and have not seen a single bird. And here you are!"

"Here I am," Mother Nature agreed. She paused the walk, staring at Blaise. He had always been quite the charming fellow, one of the positive traits that  _had_  rubbed off on Jack. Blaise's features were remarkably similar to his son's, but a bit squarer, and quite warmer. His eyes were sincere, filled with wisdom and weathered with time and war. Being in his presence was calming; generally, Blaise was a fairly laid-back sprite. But near him, there was always this lingering sense of a wisdom beyond the years of  _many_. Mother Nature had always admired that; it would have made him a great ruler, had he chosen that path. She sighed.

"Ah, so it's  _trouble_  that brings you here," Blaise said, his forehead creasing a certain way, his hair burning a tad taller. "I see."

"Yes. Unfortunately. How's Winter doing?"

His hair immediately burnt low, a soft smile on his face though sadness was in his eyes. "She's lovely as always and holding up, I suppose. The Twins have kept us busy, as of late. Fino's warlock lineage is a tad stronger than we could've ever thought. We found out he could talk to animals the other day."

"That's remarkable!"

"Indeed. It would be more so if he would stop letting in all the strays he's made friends with!"

"Stray what?"

"You name it, he's probably brought it home."

Mother Nature smiled. "And Fiera?"

"Fiera is high-spirited as always. Causing trouble here and there. Almost convinced us to keep a baby bear Fino brought home the other day. Then there's their usual banter. They're either poking fun at each other, getting along well and causing mischief, or poking fun at their older sister."

"And how is she doing?" Mother Nature asked. Jacqueline had once been a very bouncy sprite. After that… _day_  had happened, however, the spark she once had was gone. She was always very reserved around Mother Nature. She assumed it was the same around her parents, as well.

"The stories she has Mother Nature! I suppose her centuries away from home were good for her. She's…not as reserved as she once was which is a nice change. She's still a little hesitant around Winter every so often. I wish…well, no matter," Blaise said, waving his thought away.

 _Interesting,_  Mother Nature noted.

Blaise continued, clearing his throat. "I think she's shown remarkable growth power wise too," he said. "I think she's exceeded Legendary status."

"She was gone for what, eight centuries?"

"Eight or nine, I think."

"She'll have missed her original MELT then."

"Indeed. She's definitely at least at a Legendary level now."

"I'll be the judge of that," Mother Nature said, smiling. Any magical beings who had a Legendary status or special powers, such as Jacqueline and her siblings, were ranked in their mastery of the craft. (This way, should a situation arise that needed the specialization these magical beings had to offer, Mother Nature could go by ranking to see who was best suited to the job). If she recalled correctly, Jacqueline was currently second highest level, sitting at Grand-Master. The Twins were Distinguished, the second rank out of a total seven.

"Of course!" Blaise nearly shouted, throwing up his hands. "You are Mother Nature after all, and we are your humble servants," he said, winking and bowing with much splendour.

Mother Nature laughed. "Really Blaise, you're too much."

"Speaking of being too much," he said, righting himself and straightening out his orange blazer as they resumed the walk, approaching the veranda. "I feel like a warning may be due."

"Oh?"

"We've had a recent bout of territorial disputes this year. That being said, it might be a little crazy inside."

"I suppose that explains the scorch marks," Mother Nature said, grinning.

Blaise laughed. "They keep trying to melt the snow to get back at Jacqueline, but they can barely make a dent! She really is something else," he finished, fondly.

Mother Nature glanced at Blaise. "She's not…that is to say…she hasn't had any tendencies her brother may have had, does she?"

"She's a troublemaker, but not to that extent. She couldn't be more opposite to him even if she tried."

A weight lifted off of the matriarch's chest. "Thank heavens."

Before Blaise could reply, the front door burst open, a short, pale woman coming out of the house. Her red lips broke into a smile, the loose strands of her inky hair bouncing as she rushed to the steps.

"Mother! How wonderful to see you," Winter said, hugging her.

"You as well, my dear," Mother Nature replied, hugging her back. They broke off the hug, Mother Nature glancing at Winter carefully. Though she had a faint blush on her cheek, it was not a warm one; her eyes were cold. Still frozen then, Mother Nature realized, a pang of sadness deep in her chest. "I hear things have been a little crazy lately?"

"I see Blaise has been chatting up a storm already," Winter said, narrowing her eyes and smiling at her husband.

"Guilty as charged," Blaise said, grabbing Winter in a very large hug and kissing her forehead. She giggled. The pang of sadness disappeared from Mother Nature's chest, replaced by one of happiness.

"Blaise please, my Mother is right there!"

"Would it be rude if I sent you home, Mother Nature?"

" _Blaise_!"

Mother Nature laughed. "Oh, don't worry Winter dear. Really. Seeing you two always does my heart good."

"Well, let's not dally on the porch," Winter said. "I was just making fresh cocoa. Care for a cup, Mother?"

"I would love one," she said, following the parents inside.

* * *

Time flew by after Mother Nature made herself comfortable in the blue parlour Winter used for entertaining. Her skirts pooled about her and headdress off to the side, Mother Nature had gotten lost in the stories Winter had to tell her about the past decade. To nobody's surprise, Father Time had been right. Already an hour and fifty minutes had passed since her arrival.

"You can't imagine how many of Fino's little pets we've had to bring back to the wild. Poor Fiera, he never tells her when he's brought something home for a stay. It gives her quite the fright."

"Especially the racoons," Blaise said, entering the parlour.

"Raccoons?" Mother Nature asked.

Winter laughed. "They were the first things he talked to! A group of them sleep under the deck when the weather gets bad. They were making a bit of a fuss, chirping about, so Fino chirped right back at them! It shut them up fairly fast."

"It shut us up fairly fast, too. After that we kept a close eye on Fino. When Jacqueline came home the other day after walking him to go see a friend, she told us how he had been talking with birds the whole time!" Blaise added, making his way to the couch.

"I'm sure she was impressed."

"Not quite," Winter said. "She was more so annoyed because the birds kept sitting on her head."

"She came home with feathers all  _over_  her hair! It was  _hilarious_ ," Blaise added, kissing Winter on the cheek and sitting beside her on the couch, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "Now then love, why don't we let your darling Mother tell us the real reason she came by today?"

Winter's face fell. "The real reason?"

Mother Nature sighed. "Nothing gets by you, Blaise. You should've stayed King if you ask me."

He shrugged. "I'm happy here. Besides, you make a wonderful Queen, I think," he winked.

"I'm flattered," Mother Nature said, briefly smiling. "I'm afraid Blaise is right, Winter dear. You see…trouble arose in the Council Meeting earlier today."

Winter glanced at Blaise, noting his look. She sighed. "What did he do this time?"

"He's been charged with roughly two-hundred and seventy-three attempts at upstaging Santa. He froze a volcano in Hawaii, it's snowing in the Amazon,  _and_  he frosted Mexico sending the geese back  _north_  for the winter," Mother Nature said, ticking each of those three items off with her fingers.

Blaise let out a low whistle. "Wow. How did he manage the other two-hundred and seventy?"

"These," Mother Nature said, taking a brief moment of concentration before flicking her wrist and summoning one of the cardboard cut-outs before them.

"Oh  _my_ ," Winter said, her hands covering her mouth.

"Spread across malls all over the North West. I've grabbed some of them, but there's still a lot more to take care of. They're currently cloaked; Sandman gave me some special dream dust that should easily convince those who have seen it that it was a dream. Are you okay Winter?"

The season had flushed, her eyes sadder than usual. "I should've  _listened_  to her."

"Pardon me?"

"Jacqueline's been having a bit of an odd week," Blaise supplied, rubbing Winter's back.

"She was complaining about things being  _off_  and I didn't listen. Everything felt fine to me, so I told her not to worry."

"Things being off?" Mother Nature asked, curious.

"Feelings that weren't really…her  _own_ ," Blaise said, with a knowing look.

"Of course," Mother Nature realized. "She  _is_  his Legate so that  _must've_  been the reason why. Their connection."

Winter looked away. Blaise shrugged.

Mother Nature was beginning to sense a bit of unbalance—and it did not have to do with the weather.

Before she could open up her mouth to ask, a loud slam from the kitchen startled her, two loud voices shouting for their Mom and Dad.

"Oh dear," Winter said, as two flaming blurs ran into the room, one tripping and somersaulting briefly.

"Momma, she did it  _again_!" The girl on the floor said, righting herself up into a sitting position.

"She went into  _our_  territory!" The boy beside her said, hands on his hips, hair burning tall.

"There's a huge snow fort!  _Huge!_ " the girl picked up, her hair burning down to her shoulders.

"Ginormous! Like a  _castle_!"

"And it's sitting under OUR tree!"

At this point the Twins began talking over each other, Winter and Blaise trying to interrupt. Mother Nature took the opportunity to cloak the cut out, clearing her throat. The Twins stopped instantly, turning their attention to the opposite sofa.

"Oh," Fino said, Fiera blushing and quickly standing up.

"Oh indeed," Mother Nature said.

"Fino. Fiera. That's more than enough," Blaise finally got to say. "As you've noticed we have very important company." He gestured towards Mother Nature, the matriarch giving a small wave and standing up.

"Hello Grandma Nature," They said in unison, both bowing.

"Hello, Fino, Fiera." Mother Nature smiled and opened her arms, the Twins gleefully running and hugging her on either side. "My you two are warm!"

"We're red hot!" Fiera said.

"We've been practising lots lately!" Fino added.

"Look how big my flame is!" Fiera said, cupping her hands together and concentrating. They turned a bright red as a large flame sparked, almost as tall as Fiera.

"I can talk to animals now too!" Fino said. "Just like Aunt Spring and you!"

"So I've heard," Mother Nature said. "Not in the house, Fiera."

"Sorry," Fiera said, immediately extinguishing it and folding her hands behind her back.

A new idea began to take shape in Mother Nature's mind. Once again, before she had the opportunity to voice it, the room grew colder and another voice interrupted.

"Excuse  _me_  but my snow castle is in the perfect— _ouf_!"

In a flurry of blue sparks and snowflakes, the last member of the Frost family had materialized. She was rubbing her nose, frowning a bit.

"Your snow castle is ILLEGAL!" Fiera shouted.

The sprite stopped rubbing her nose, hands on her hips. "It is not! And besides, you guys took  _my_  favourite tree earlier for your stupid little flame monsters! And they kept  _melting_  my snow fortress!"

"Jacqueline dear…we have a  _guest_ ," Winter said.

Jacqueline looked in the direction Winter gestured to, her face dropping. "Oh." She recovered from the shock fairly fast, the surprise on her face quickly becoming a small smile as she dropped into a curtsy. "Mother Nature, what a surprise," she said.

"Indeed. A pleasure as always, Jacqueline," Mother Nature said, smiling.

Jacqueline, unlike her younger siblings, was more or less neatly put together. She wore one of her simple frozen blue dresses today. It was lightly frosted, unlike her usual formal dress Mother Nature saw her in (which was frozen very well, the bodice literal icicles). Jacqueline glanced away, brushing off one of her poofed sleeves and then folding her hands in front of her, the long, wide bottoms of the sleeves hiding them. Though she looked a lot like her brother, her features were rounder and warmer. She was not frozen nor had she ever  _been_  frozen.

"Now kids, we love your company but I don't think now is the best time," Winter began.

"Nonsense, they can stay. That is to say, they  _should_  say," Mother Nature said, the idea fully formed now.

"But first, they need to wash up," Blaise said, getting up and shooing the Twins out the door. "You two are  _covered_  in ash."

"It's natural!" Fiera said. "We couldn't wash it off if we  _tried_!"

"You can wash it off, and you  _will_ ," Blaise said, only a tad sternly.

"C'mon Fiera, let's go." Fino grabbed her hand and the two kids rushed out of the room, disappearing to the other side of the first floor.

"So what did he do this time?" Jacqueline asked. "I'm  _assuming_  he did something, judging by this large piece of…cardboard? I accidently teleported into." She rubbed her nose again, frowning.

Mother Nature waved her hand, the Frostmas cut out once again appearing. Jacqueline looked shocked; her face fell, and she turned to her parents. "So, uh, about those weird feelings—"

"I'm so sorry we didn't listen to you, Jacqueline," Winter said.

Whatever retort Jacqueline had had died in her throat. Her face fell, her shoulders slumped when she saw Winter's sad look.

"Is this it?" Jacqueline asked Mother Nature. The matriarch paid careful attention to the young sprite's face, watching as she avoided all eye contact with her Mother.

"This is just one of two-hundred and  _thirty_ ," Mother Nature said, frowning.

"He's out  _done_ himself this time," Jacqueline said, quietly.

" _Jacqueline_."

"It's  _true_ , Dad."

"And that's not  _all_ , I'm afraid," Mother Nature continued, paying rapt attention to the three adults in the room with her. "He's caused an  _extreme_  shift in balance for this time of year! Froze a volcano, cooled off Mexico—causing the geese to fly back North for the winter— _and_  it's currently snowing in the  _Amazon_."

"Holy snowballs."

"This situation is a huge mess," Mother Nature said. "I won't beat around the bush here. Originally, I was going to request the help of your parents…but I see now that it may be better if I enlisted your help as well, Jacqueline, along with your siblings."

"How so?" Jacqueline asked.

"Your parents have told me that you've exceeded your current rank and are perhaps well past Legendary, even."

Jacqueline glanced back at her parents briefly, her mouth twitching. She looked at the cut out again, the smile that was threatening to break through dropping. "I mean…I don't wanna brag or anything but I've… _learnt_  a thing or two since my last MELT."

"Then consider today the day of your final MELT."

"My final MELT? For the Legendary ranking?  _Today_?"

Mother Nature nodded.

"WE'RE BACK!" Fiera shouted, rushing into the room soot free. (Panicking, Jacqueline pushed the cut out onto the floor behind the couch, where the Twins wouldn't see it).

"And clean! I told you so," Fino said to Fiera. She stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms. Fino blew a raspberry back at her before turning back to Mother Nature. "Did you say something about MELTs?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"I did indeed. I came over today originally because I needed your parent's help with some…problems. After talking to them though and seeing what you three kids are capable of—"

"I bet it was my flame," Fiera whispered to Fino.

"—capable of," Mother Nature continued, smiling nonetheless, "I have decided to get you two and your sister to help me fix these problems. Here's what's gone wrong."

And so, Mother Nature spent the last thirty minutes explaining in detail to the kids what had happened. She had divvied the tasks accordingly. Jacqueline would move the storm to Ontario, where it  _should've_  been. The Twins would take care of the volcano together (as unfreezing a volcano was something that was more of a rank four thing; but two rank twos should do the job just as nicely, she figured). Fino would calmly explain to the geese that it was not June but  _November_ , and tell them to head back to Mexico; that is,  _after_  the two of them warmed it up.

"Everyone knows what they're doing?" Mother Nature asked.

"I get to unfreeze a VOLCANO! I've always WANTED to play with lava!"

"I'll be helping her with that and then the two of us will warm up Mexico, so I can tell the geese to go back to their vacation home!"

"Then later on, I'll be moving a set of storms over a few continents."

"Precisely. Fino, Fiera, we leave in an hour; I have some unfinished business back at the garden to take care of, and by the time I finish it should be sufficiently dark enough that we can evade the mortals."

"Okay!" they chorused, rushing out of the room and up the stairs.

Once the twins were out of sight, Jacqueline slammed her foot down, the cardboard Jack springing up. "What about these?"

"While I administer the MELTs, Blaise and Winter will collect the remainder. Will you both be okay with that?"

Winter paled; Blaise looked at her, concerned. She nodded. "We should be fine," Blaise voiced.

"Excellent."

"Just one question," Jacqueline said. Mother Nature inclined her head, indicating the sprite to continue. "The snow already coating the Amazon. What do you want me to do about that?"

"Once you move the storms northwards, the regular temperature should kick in and melt it ASAP. By morning, it will be right as rain. Keep in mind, Jacqueline, your MELT is very different. It is a combination of demonstrating your powers and doing your brother's duties. You are a Legate, after all. And with what he's done now, if our current punishment doesn't hold up, you may be taking that title sooner than you thought."

"So no pressure, right?"

Mother Nature snorted. "None at all."

"What is his current punishment?" Blaise blurted out.

"Community service at the North Pole. Santa's idea."

"Are we sure that was wise?" Blaise asked. Winter looked away.

Mother Nature was beginning to make sense of a few things. "Well, Santa seemed convinced and seeing as how it was him whom Jack directly wronged, the Council voted yes."

"Maybe it will be good for him," Winter said, quietly.

"One can only hope," Mother Nature replied, noting Blaise's frown and Jacqueline's…hurt? Expression. The silence was thick.

"Thank you very much for doing this, Mother," Winter said, breaking the silence.

"Thank  _you_ , Winter dear. Without the help of you and the children, I imagine it would take me much longer to clean up this mess!" she stood up, grabbing her headdress and placing it back on her head. "Now then, I have a bit of an unwanted guest back at the Garden that I must take care of. I'll be back in an hour for the Twins; the two of you should be good to go once we leave."

"Sounds good," Blaise said, getting up and offering Winter a hand. She took it and got up as well, giving her Mother another hug.

"Thank you for visiting," Winter said. "Even if the circumstances weren't…ideal."

"It was a lovely visit, despite the reason. I'll be back before you know it," Mother Nature finished, pulling out of the hug and squeezing her daughter's shoulders tightly. "Until then, Winter, Blaise, Jacqueline."

With a small smile and a weight lifted off of her chest, Mother Nature disappeared in a bright flash of light.

* * *

Mother Nature reappeared in her Garden with a new sense of purpose. With the Frosts help, she would fix the unbalances in the world  _and_  administer the MELTs she should have given the kids a  _long_  time ago.

Most importantly, she would fix the unbalances plaguing the Frost family; she was determined to. You see, Mother Nature had a special gift. Yes, she had all of nature at her fingertips,  _but_  she was also able to sense the nature of  _people_.

This meant that as an added bonus, she could sense if a person was unbalanced or balanced just right. And the Frosts, they were very,  _very_  unbalanced.

She had reappeared in her rose garden, where the giant sundial stood. Her visit had taken roughly two hours and forty-five minutes; of course Father Time would have been right. He always was, when it came to matters of time! That near three-hour visit had allowed Mother Nature to pick up on what was plaguing each of the Frosts and figure out what it was that was causing their unbalances—well, nearly.

The Twins had been easy enough. They were hiding something from their parents. You couldn't even tell just by looking at them; but occasionally, as Mother Nature had explained the situation, they had shared a knowing look once or twice, almost as if they were communicating silently. As if they knew something they did  _not_  want their parents to know.

Then there was Jacqueline. She had practically  _radiated_  negative emotions. There was fear, worry, and…anger. Which was  _very_  concerning for the matriarch, because she could not tell  _who_  the sprite was angry at. Worst was, it felt as thought a lot of that fear and anger was towards Jacqueline  _herself_. That sort of self doubt was not healthy for a sprite in the long run. The sooner Mother Nature worked that out with her, the  _better_.

And of course as always, there was the deeply conflicted feelings of Blaise and Winter. Today they were at a  _peak_ ; Mother Nature figured it was because of the news she had had to share. Winter was upset; Mother Nature got the vibe she was also upset at herself and  _also_  hiding something from everyone else. And Blaise? He just wanted Winter to be happy—and he didn't know how he could do that now.

With a determined smile, Mother Nature headed to her kitchen first, to make sure said unwanted guest was gone, then towards her forest office. It was time to get to work; balance had to be restored.

Thankfully, balance was Mother Nature's specialty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to go back into the first chapter and update the noes there but uh anyway hi! ow's it going? The formatting here is still incredibly hard to come by. Anywho, welcome to the much improved Meet the Frosts! (I say, on chapter 2). Meet the Frosts!! My personal (well loved) headcanon for Jack's family. Even people like Jack have a family, really. When I originally posted this back in like 2012, it had been a plot bunny for quite some time; now here it is!! In all it's improved glory!!! Please leave me your thoughts and feelings, I love love LOVE feedback (don't we all, though?)


	3. The Twins

**Chapter 3: The Twins**

An hour later, Fino and Fiera sat in the main parlour, jittering with excitement. Blaise and Winter stood with them, waiting patiently for Mother Nature's return. Blaise had spent the better part of the hour telling Fino and Fiera everything they may need to know about volcanoes to successfully melt this one without destroying a nearby town. It would be hard; lava was hard for  _him_  to control, and he was  _centuries_  old.

"If you add our ages together that makes twenty-four hundred!" Fino had said. "That's almost as old as Jacqueline!"

"Hey!" Jacqueline had said. "I'm not even  _close_  to twenty-four hundred! I like  _just_  turned nineteen-hundred!"

"And if Jacqueline can make big snowstorms and put snow forts where they shouldn't go, then the two of us can fight a volcano no problem!" Fiera had said.

"Please don't fight the volcano," Winter had said, alarmed.

"Talk to it nicely," Blaise had suggested.

After that, they had had to work out the territory issues. Jacqueline had agreed to move her snow fort, only if Fiera and Fino would move their "fiery demons" away from the far willow tree.

"It's my tree," she had said. "If they want their tree back, they have to give me back mine first!"

So Blaise had made sure the Twins moved their monster buddies, and then had watched as Jacqueline moved her (pretty spectacular, if he did say so himself) snow fort. Then Winter had shuffled them into the parlour since Mother Nature was due back at any moment.

"It's been an hour. Shouldn't she be here now?" Fiera asked, fidgeting.

"I'm sure she's on her way," Blaise said, pulling out a pocket watch and checking the time. Right on cue, a bright light filled the room and Mother Nature was back.

"All set you two?" she asked.

"Yes!" said Fiera, hopping off the couch.

"Mostly!" Fino said, following suit.

"Then we'll be off. Blaise, Winter, I'll be back for Jacqueline later this evening. I'll do my best to keep these two out of trouble until then," Mother Nature said, smiling.

"Good luck Mother Nature. Trouble usually finds  _them_ ," Blaise said, squishing the twins.

"Feel free to leave for your own errand whenever the two of you are ready."

"Of course."

"The two of you will do amazing, I'm sure of it. Be safe Fiera. You too, Fino," Winter said, hugging them as well.

"We will," Fino said.

"We'll TRY!" Fiera said, grinning.

"We  _will_ ," Fino insisted. "Safety is not a joke, Fiera."

"You're no fun," Fiera replied.

"Playing with fire is fine, but not lava!"

"They're the same thing!"

"No they're  _not_!"

Mother Nature rolled her eyes and, grabbing the twins' hands, disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

"Did I miss Grandmother?" Jacqueline asked, walking into the parlour.

"Your brother and sister just left with her for their MELT," Winter replied.

Jacqueline groaned. "Of  _course_  they did. Right as their little demons started heading towards my fortress!"

"I thought they moved them," Blaise said.

"Well they're a little too close for comfort."

"We'll get your siblings to get rid of them when they get back, don't worry, Jacqueline."

"Ugh,  _fine_. Just know that you're being an accessory to snow-fortress slaughter in the making."

"How will I sleep at night, knowing that?" Blaise asked, gasping and putting a hand to his forehead.

" _Dad_ ," Jacqueline said, trying very hard to be annoyed but failing miserably as a grin slipped through.

"Are you ready to head out, Winter dear?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she sighed.

"Well, the sooner the better, right Mom?"

"I suppose."

Jacqueline bristled at her Mother's cold tone. Winter blinked, clearing her throat. "Let me know when the twins return, okay?" she asked, kissing Jacqueline's forehead.

"Yeah, sure," Jacqueline said.

"And please don't destroy the house while we're gone," Blaise said.

"Do I look like Fiera?"

"Yes, you're siblings. No ice rinks in the foyer, no indoor blizzards on the bottom two floors, and  _especially_  no hail."

"Make it hail in the kitchen  _one time_."

"One time is more than enough. I think I still have bruises from those chunks of ice."

"Fine, I'll sit here and behave."

"We'll be back in no time. Mother Nature will be here for you a bit later, alright?"

"Sure."

"Shall we, Blaise dear?"

"I'll race you," Blaise said, grinning and disappearing in a burst of fire and red sparks.

"It's not a proper race if you get a head start!" Winter said, disappearing in a flurry of snowflakes and blue sparks.

The silence pressed in on Jacqueline. Unsure what to do now that everyone was gone, she fidgeted with her sleeves before deciding to curl up on the couch and…wait. There wasn't much else for her to do for the time being, anyway.

* * *

Fino, Fiera, and Mother Nature appeared moments later in the semi darkness at the base of what looked to be a large mountain. Covered in ice and snow, the mountain loomed before them, chilly air drifting around them.

"Here we are," Mother Nature said, frowning at the sight before her. What an affront to nature—she would know.

"Where's the volcano?" Fiera asked.

"Right in front of us," Fino replied. "I can feel the molten rock moving below us." He was squatting down, his hand on the floor. "Plus, look at the ground."

Fiera squatted as well. The ground below them light and looked like ripples—volcanic rock. She looked back up at the mountain. "Wow. That's  _real_  frozen."

"It really is. That's why this will be the Magical Level Education Test for the  _both_  of you. Freezing a volcano is no small feat. Thawing one out, especially one as active as  _this_ , is incredibly hard. Why, I would place it at a Master level perhaps; maybe even Grand-Master. I think though that the two of you working together can take care of this in a fair amount of time."

The two kids nodded, determined.

"As with the MELTs, I will not assist you in the slightest. This will be all up to the two of you; I'll only intervene if things get bad."

"Like how bad?"

"Well, this volcano—Kilauea—is the reason the larger one, Mauna Loa, doesn't explode and take out a good portion of the island. It's like a large vent for the other one. The fact that this one was frozen is really bad news. The longer it stays frozen, the higher the chances of Mauna Loa exploding are. So, if  _that_  happens, that's when things get really bad and  _that's_  when I'll intervene."

"If it's such a big problem, how come you didn't take care of it earlier?" Fino asked.

"It's a tourist attraction. They closed it down once they saw it froze, and all sorts of scientists and military personal have been crawling around it since. I haven't had a chance until now to really do anything about it. And now is the best time, seeing as how I have two heat sprites with me!"

"Two of the best heat sprites ever!" Fiera said, saluting.

Fino laughed. "Let's get started, Fiera."

"Right! So! We know it's been frozen on the outside. How about the inside?"

"Molten rock is too hot to freeze," Fino said. "We can feel it moving below us, so we know it's not fully frozen."

"Since the vents on the volcano are frozen though, there's no escape for the magma building up."

"Let's thaw those first?"

"Yeah!"

The two sprung into action, climbing up the side of the mountain, leaving puddled footprints in their wake. They placed their hands on the covered vents, easily melting the ice and allowing the slowly building magma to escape. The ice around the vents melted very fast once the lava began flowing.

The twins kept going until they reached the caldera of the volcano. That is, what  _should_  have been the open basin revealing the broiling hot magma inside. It was nearly unrecognizable in how frozen  _solid_  the caldera was. The ice glowed a deep red, steam leaking through some of the weaker points.

"How is this even possible?" Fino asked.

Fiera shrugged. "Magic, probably. It's magical ice. Look, it's got patterns like Mom's and Jacqueline's do."

Fino squinted, now noticing the slightly jagged pattern of the ice that repeated over and over. Fiera was right, it was magic. But it wasn't as flowy as Jacqueline's pattern was. And it wasn't as elegant as their Mom's was.

It clicked for both children at the same moment; both of them gasped and stared at each other, orange eyes wide.

"Did…did  _he_  do this?" Fiera voiced, very very quietly.

Fino looked over the edge of the crater to where Mother Nature had made herself comfortable on one of the larger rippled rocks. He turned back to his sister, speaking just as quietly as she had.

"I think so. Why else would Mother Nature come to our house to ask for Mom's help?"

"This is awful! How could you just  _freeze_  a volcano! Poor volcano…"

"Not only that but it's a huge misuse of power. This throws a  _lot_  out of whack! Especially after what Grandma said."

"Jacqueline wasn't joking around when she told us he was bad."

"No, she wasn't."

"Everything okay up here?" Mother Nature asked, appearing right on the edge of the caldera, a chunk of earth she must have used as a natural elevator floating below her.

"Just peachy!" Fiera said quickly, her voice cracking.

"We were just trying to figure out the best point to start thawing."

"Yeah! We figured we would just make the volcano explode—" Fiera began, catching onto Fino's plan.

"—erupt—"

"— _explode_ , so that we can melt this all at once AND melt the rest of the sides of the volcano!"

Mother Nature smiled. "Excellent idea you two. Now what part do you think is weakest?"

"The middle," Fino said. "It's hotter."

"Excellent. You two are doing amazing tonight! Now keep in mind that this volcano is usually constantly erupting. When you ease it all out, be watchful; it's been frozen for a while and you  _don't_  want an explosion on your hands," she finished, aiming a pointed look at Fiera.

"Okay," she said.

"Got it," Fino said.

With determined nods, the two kids slid into the center of the rink and closed their eyes, breathing deeply. They began to move their arms in a simultaneous up and down arc, over and over. Below them, the magma that was unhappily bubbling began to settle down, slowly rising to the top with the gentle efforts of the two fiery sprites.

The ice began to rapidly evaporate, a burst of heat and steam accompanying it. Still in sync, Fino and Fiera slid to the side of the crater as the ice covering it cracked and disappeared, the lava now slowly leaking down the trail on the side of volcano it usually slid down, heading towards the ocean. The ice surrounding it dissipated instantly, an ash cloud slowly growing above them.

Fino slid down the side of the volcano, concentrating as he eased the lava  _away_  from the paths towards civilization, Fiera aiding him at the top of the volcano. Her cheeks were puffy and redder than usual; Fino's were as well.

Finally, the volcano breathed a sigh of relief, as did Mother Nature. All the ice dissipated, the lava returning to its normal levels, the flow less than it had been when the crater spilt over. Fiera slid down the side of the volcano, joining Fino beside Mother Nature. Both sprites were breathing heavily; Fiera bent over backwards, her hands on her lower back. Fino's hands rested on his knees as he squatted, trying to catch his own breath.

"I am ready for  _bed_ ," Fiera decided, letting out a whoosh of breath and stretching her arms now.

"We still gotta do the frost in Mexico though," Fino said, moving his torso side to side.

"Yes, but we can take a rest," Mother Nature said.

Fiera breathed a sigh of relief, sitting on the flat earth beside Mother Nature. Fino followed suite, albeit more carefully than his sister had.

"So," Mother Nature began, a curious look on her face. "Magical ice, huh?"

Fiera blanched, letting out a little squeak. "You heard us?"

Mother Nature nodded. "I have great hearing, as you two do. I caught a thing or two."

"Oh," Fiera said, stunned into silence. She glanced at Fino, helplessly.

"We both realized that it had patterns that reminded us of Mom and Jacqueline. Well, Fiera did. It also didn't make sense for a regular bunch of ice to be able to freeze a volcano  _solid_! That was definitely only a magical thing."

"I see," Mother Nature said, thoughtfully.

"It was just…weird…" Fino continued, hesitantly. He glanced at his sister; she gave the smallest nod, so he continued. "It looked like Jacqueline and Mom's work but we  _know_  they would  _never_  freeze a volcano. Volcanos are bad for Mom and Jacqueline isn't fond of them either! If anybody ever decided to freeze a volcano magically…I think that they would have to have a completely frozen heart," Fino finished, a knowing look in his eyes as he gazed at Mother Nature intently.

"That was…quite the speech, Fino. Very wise."

"I'm twelve-hundred and thirty-eight, that's a pretty wise age."

"It's a  _fun_  age," Fiera added, grinning.

"I see," Mother Nature said once more. She really did see; in fact, she was almost certain that she knew their secret. They just didn't want to bluntly say it and she didn't quite want to press them. It would be better if they told her themselves, though Mother Nature was fairly certain that they knew the truth: they knew about their brother.

And Mother Nature was getting the feeling that they  _wanted_  her to know that they knew.

She cleared her throat. "Now then children, ready for this last bit?" with simultaneous nods from the both of them, Mother Nature grabbed their hands tightly and aimed her sights on Mexico. A little more prodding, and they were sure to tell her. It was in their nature, after all. And that was Mother Nature's area of expertise.

* * *

Within an hour they were hunting down the geese.

They had arrived on the east coast and began working their way to the west, using their steamy breath to slowly warm the country as they raced through it, with Mother Nature's help. Soon enough, all the frost was gone and the warmth had returned. Afterwards they had headed north to find the geese.

They finally came across a large gaggle of geese and stopped to observe. They grazed around, squawking at the snow on the ground and slightly frozen ponds. They honked back and forth, sounding very uncertain.

"They are very confused," Fino voiced, listening to the birds squabble.

"I don't blame them," Mother Nature replied. "Once you let this group know I'm sure they'll be able to tell the others as they head south nice and proper."

"What if they don't and they're all stranded here?"

"Not to worry, Fino. They'll eventually fly back south. It's in their nature. And if they don't then your Aunt Spring can take care of the stragglers. I'm not going to make you chase them around all evening! Thawing that volcano was enough of a workout."

"If you say so," Fino said.

"I don't say so, I  _know_  so. Now then, you go on and help those geese out, okay? We'll be right here."

With a nod, Fino rushed off to go talk to the geese, leaving his grandmother and sister to watch.

"He sounds very funny when he talks to animals," Fiera remarked, watching as her brother honked at the geese, the birds flocking around him and quieting down. They appeared to be listening; it was quite the sight.

Mother Nature watched Fiera. The young sprite frowned, deep in thought. Mother Nature sighed; she hadn't thought it would be this slow going, getting the Twins to tell her what it was that they were hiding. She was beginning to think that she should just straight out  _say_  it when Fiera began to speak.

"The ice on the volcano  _was_  magic…right?"

"Yes. It was."

"But it wasn't you or Mom or Jacqueline."

"No, it wasn't."

"There's something I gotta tell you."

"I thought as much."

"Well, Fino and I both gotta tell you. We've been keeping it under wraps for a  _while_  but it's  _hard_ , Grandmother Nature! I feel like the volcano!"

"That's not healthy for a sprite as young as you."

"That's what Fino keeps saying and I agree but we decided  _not_  to tell Mom and Dad because they don't like to hear about the whole thing—"

"Fiera dear," Mother Nature bent down, putting her arms on the girl's shoulders, gently. "Calm down. Take a breather, alright? In…and out…yes, that's good. Okay. Better now?" a nod. "Good. Now, what is it you're trying to tell me?"

"WE KNOW ABOUT OUR BROTHER JACK!" Fiera shouted in one breath, loud enough to startle a few of the nearby geese. She covered her mouth, shocked, as the geese all took off and began to fly southwards, a few stragglers flying west and east—to tell the others, like Mother Nature had thought.

"The geese are all good now," Fino said, joining their side. "They're even going to spread the message so—oh no, Fiera, what's wrong?"

"I TOLD MOTHER NATURE THE THING!"

"You did?"

"YES. I CAN'T STOP SHOUTING!"

"That's okay sis, just take a deep breath in and then let it out, like we usually do!"

Fiera took a deep breath in and much to Mother Nature's surprise, let out a very loud scream.

"Better?" Fino finally asked.

"Better," she replied. "Thanks bro-bro."

"Well then," Mother Nature began, only to be cut off by both kids talking suddenly.

"We didn't mean to find out, honestly!"

"We got bored one day and so Dad sent us to the library because books or something—"

"—I tripped while we were running around, over a box—"

"—it was FULL of old photo albums so we started to look and there was a fourth person in pictures with Mom and Dad and Jacqueline—"

"—he looked like a winter sprite so we  _assumed_  he was like Mom—"

"—we didn't want to ask her about it though because it just didn't feel right, it felt like we weren't supposed to see those old portraits and stuff so we—"

"—we asked Jacqueline and she told us the whole story!"

"Okay, take a breather you two. I'm not upset. You don't need to explain yourselves so hastily."

"So, we  _do_  have to explain ourselves?" Fiera asked, flushed.

"I would very much like to  _hear_  the story in a  _calm_  manner."

"That's on you, bro-bro."

"I'm very not calm right now!"

"You're calmer than I am!"

"Just take a deep breath Fino, and then tell me the story. When you're ready," she said, leading them to an outcropping of rocks and taking a seat. Fino and Fiera sat on either side of her, their warmer than regular temperature heating up the rocks, warming the matriarch up.

It was only a moment or two before Fino began their tale.

It had been a usual day at home; Jacqueline was around, Mom was out, and Dad sat in his office going over the work that had been done that day at Town Hall. The Twins had been  _incredibly_  bored.

Blaise's answer had been for them to go read a book. So, they headed to their home library and began goofing off. Until Fino tripped over an old box way at the very back of the library, that is. Inside, they had found old photos with a small Jacqueline, and a much younger Winter and Blaise…and a fourth person they didn't recognize.

Both had realized that he seemed to be more of a winter sprite than a heat sprite, like them. Both had recognized features he had that the rest of them had. Winter wasn't around, and both the kids had felt as though talking to Mom about this person was not a good idea. Fino suggested they talk to Jacqueline, and so they headed on upstairs to go ask their sister.

"And she told you?" Mother Nature interrupted.

Fino nodded. "She sat down on her couch, staring at the picture. And her face was really odd, Grandmother. She had this kinda look that was both happy and sad? Wistful is the word I would use, I think. And she said that his name was Jack Frost and he was our older brother, and hers too."

"I see. And what did she say after that?"

"She told us how when she was little, he was the best big brother ever! He ended up teaching her mostly," Fiera said, taking charge of the story for a bit. "Mostly because he was ambitious, but not in a good way, in a  _scary_ way, she said. He wanted to learn lots more and Mom couldn't help him there, she had taught him everything she knew! Jacqueline said he went searching for the old sprites, even charming the Grand Witches so he could talk to the other sprites!"

"So, he learnt a bunch, and became Legendary in name, not just status, got a seat on the Council, and that's when everything got worse," Fino jumped in. "Then she told us about  _that_  night. The one fourteen centuries ago."

"What night?"

"You know…" Fiera glanced around, making sure nobody was listening, before standing up and leaning in close to Mother Nature. " _The Day of Darkness_ ," she whispered, the same way the characters in  _Harry Potter_  avoided saying Voldemort's name.

"Oh dear. How much did she tell you?"

"Oh, a bit here and there," Fiera said, sitting back down, swinging her legs. "I don't think we got the full version. I think she child locked it."

Mother Nature let out a small laugh. "She gave you a PG version?"

"I think PG-13," Fino said. "She said it started with a huge fight. She didn't remember the details, she said, she was only in her about mid-four hundreds or so, she told us. She said that Jack had been doing these bad things—"

"Like the volcano today!"

"—yeah, like that! And it was concerning Dad because he thought it meant that Jack was turning evil. Then it went bad, after that. They fought. He hurt Mom and Dad then headed out, and that's when Jacqueline came downstairs. They talked, and she followed him to the gates and then..."

"He hurt her," Fiera finished. "She didn't give us details."

"But she  _did_  put her hand on her belly area. And she looked real upset. I figured from that that the hurt wasn't just on the inside, but physically as well. On the outside."

"After that, she said that he left the house and never came back. The whole  _continent_  was frozen solid! And it lasted for a real long time, she told us."

"And that's where she ended it. It was quiet for a bit while we processed and then Jacqueline grabbed us and hugged us really tight. It was weird, she hugged us until we ruined her freeze job on her dress, and she  _hates_  when we do that because the blue is better and white stains easily. I like the white one better though, I think."

"Me too!" Fiera said. "But she's right, it does get dirty easily and her dresses are real old, if they got ruined it would be hard to replace them."

"That's weirdly considerate of you, sis."

"I'm not that much of a lava brain!"

"I know! I just didn't expect you to know how old her dresses are."

"I am a sprite of many talents," Fiera said, seriously. "Grandmother?"

"Yes?"

"Did Jacqueline tell us the truth?"

"She did. The PG-13 version of it for sure, but the truth more or less."

"Why didn't Mom and Dad tell us about him?" Fino asked.

Mother Nature was silent, thoughtful for a bit. For once, Fiera and Fino were patient as could be, waiting for their answer. The dark woman stood up and sunk down, kneeling to be at eye level with both children. She paused once again, before she finally offered them an explanation.

"To protect you. What Jack did to your Mother and Father, and  _especially_  your sister…was bad. It hurt them deeply. It…Blaise and Winter both haven't quite been the same since. They put on a good face, but it's  _hard_  on them; it still is. When you two were born, your parents had a long talk with me about…about Jack. They were concerned that if you grew up knowing, you would be as confused as your sister was."

"Jacqueline? Confused?"

"She was very young when it happened. Much younger than the two of you, even. I don't think she ever fully understood what happened, which had a very bad effect on her in the long run."

"Is that why she left for so long?"

"Perhaps. Needless to say, both your parents had decided that they would let you grow up without knowing what had happened, or knowing about your older brother in general. They wanted to know if it was a good decision; I told them that if they felt it was best, then it was."

"Is that why Mom's always sad and stuff?"

"Fiera!"

"Was I too blunt? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's alright, dear. You're right, after all. It is why she's so sad. What he did upset her very much. It caused your Mother to freeze her heart over."

"Freeze her heart?"

"It's a…well, I wouldn't say ability, per se…"

"A curse?"

"Not quite, but I think that's the best way I can describe it to you two. It's common in winter sprites; both the Winter Warlock  _and_  the Snow Queen had frozen hearts. Snow himself as well, and I don't think  _his_  ever thawed out, to be honest. When I found your Mother, she had a frozen heart, too. I saw her thaw once; and a second time, when the war froze her over and your father's love for her—and hers for him—melted her heart again. But this third time has been the longest by far."

Mother Nature stopped, taking a moment. It was quiet; nothing but the sounds of the winter winds rushing through the trees and someone's far off windchimes ruining the stillness of the night.

"When a winter sprite is frozen, there is one dominant emotion that drives them. With your brother, it is an envy so big it has become evil. With your Mother, it's sadness."

"And that's why she's always sad," Fino realized. "She can't  _feel_  any other emotion!"

"Yes and no. She can feel other emotions of course; it's just…the sadness is always there. It stops her from being fully happy. There are good days, and there are bad days."

"Is there a way we can thaw her?"

"I can reach temperatures of three-hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, grandma! Will that be enough?"

Mother Nature laughed. "I think that both of you do your best by being there for her. Maybe one of these days she'll thaw again; but for now, the best we can all do is support her."

"You knew," Fiera suddenly said.

"I'm sorry?"

"You knew we knew, didn't you?"

"I knew you were hiding  _something_ , I just didn't know  _what_. I could sense it was unbalancing the two of you. Don't you feel better now that you've told me? I hope the both of you do at the very least."

"I think I speak for both of us when I say that yeah, we feel a  _lot_  better," Fino said, Fiera nodding in agreement.

"Good. Now then, I think we're just about done here, business wise." Mother Nature got up, gesturing for the Twins to rise as well. They did; they stood as tall as they could, hands behind their backs, hair barely smouldering.

Mother Nature cleared her throat, her hands hovering above the heads of the two children. "By the power vested in me, by me, I have judged your performances today and am happy to formally pronounce you, Fino Frost, and you, Fiera Frost, officially Respected heat sprites. You have both successfully passed your MELTs."

There was a strong breeze and a brief glow around the two sprites. Once it diminished, the siblings grinned and whooped, jumping around excitedly. When their festivities finally slowed, Mother Nature held out her open hands. Out of habit, both Fiera and Fino grabbed one, ready to head out.

"All set?" she asked.

"Yup!" they replied.

"Then let's get going," Mother Nature replied, picturing the light blue parlour and preparing to teleport over.

"Mother Nature, did you notice the rest of the unbalances?" Fino asked, interrupting the matriarch.

"I…may have noticed a thing or two a little unbalanced with your sister and parents as well, yes."

"Are you gonna help them the way you helped us? And balance us all nicely again?" Fiera asked.

"That's the plan," Mother Nature said. "So far so good, right?"

The twins giggled, gripping their grandmother's hands tightly.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said.

The last few geese squawked overhead as a bright flash engulfed the three sprites, leaving the field empty once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little disclaimer here, I'm not a geologist/scientist or remotely close, so any flaws in the volcano discussion are my own and my apologies if a geologist/scientist or variation there off is reading this. I did discuss at length with my dear friend Ana what volcano would've been frozen, and she managed to give me a LOT of details and guys holy heck, Jack freezing the volcano was a LOT worse when we contextualized it holy heck! It's been 3 months since I discussed this and I'm still shook tbh
> 
> Here's the Twins for you! I love these fiery menaces so much? They're a delight to write, honestly. I'll have Jacqueline's revamped chapter up for you all shortly! The whole thing is done, and I should probably post the entire finished work on her, shouldn't I? :p
> 
> Please do comment guys, gals, and non-binary pals! I don't bite and reviews give me wings, they're like my redbull :) AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE KUDOS! I appreciate them :)


	4. The Sister

**Chapter 4: The Sister**

The bright flash of light was hard to miss. Shielding her eyes as she turned the corner, Jacqueline re-entered the parlour with a mini cupcake, waving away the leftover bits of light that slowly dissipated once her siblings and grandmother had fully rematerialized.

"So how did it go?" she asked, peeling off the wrapper and popping the whole cupcake into her mouth at once.

"We did it! We fought a volcano and WON!"

"We didn't  _fight_  it! We took care of it in a very careful manner."

"They passed; they're Respected, the volcano is no longer frozen and the geese are headed back south. Just in time, too," Mother Nature said.

Jacqueline grinned. "Holy snowballs, you guys  _actually_  did it! A whole volcano,  _wow_."

"I am very tired and I don't know about Fino, but I am ready for  _bed_ ," Fiera said. "But first, a hug!" she  _bolted_  towards Jacqueline, Fino laughing and following closely.

" _No no no not—_! Too late," Jacqueline said, as both kids had jumped and wrapped themselves on either side of their sister She could hear the cracking begin. "Guys, I'm happy for you two as well, but my  _dress_! You know how hard it is to freeze it!"

"It's better melted," Fino said, hopping down and pulling Fiera off after him.

Jacqueline placed her hands on the cracking skirt of her dress. Her hands took on a dark blue hue and a layer of frost stopped the melting. "That's better—what happened to your legs, guys?"

"Oh," Fiera said, looking down. "Battle scars, cool!"

"Must've been the rocks. Volcano rocks are sharp!"

"You guys are lucky they're tiny scratches, those things can be  _dangerously_  sharp," Jacqueline said. "Mother Nature, may I clean those up for them and fix up my dress before we leave?"

"Of course. I could use the breather. Could you tell your Mother that the Twins are back safe?"

"Sure," Jacqueline said. She was silent for a moment, sending Winter a message through their mental connection—a connection all spritely Mothers had with their kids. "Done and done."

"Thank you. I would have done that myself, but I'm a little winded."

"Well you might want to sit because Mom is—"

"Fino! Fiera!" Winter's voice said as her body materialized, stray snowflakes settling on the carpet. "Congratulations you two. I'm very proud," she said, giving them a very tight hug.

"Mom, our faces!" Fiera protested.

"You're squishing us!"

"I'm losing all feeling!"

Winter smiled. "Alright, I suppose I'll have to let go then." She stood up, smoothing out her dress and turning to Mother Nature. "Thank you, Mother."

"Don't thank me; it was all them. I should be thanking you for letting me recruit them for our little adventure tonight."

"You're next, Jacqueline dear?"

"Yes. I just have to fix this," he said, pointing to her cracked skirt, "and apply some band-aids to some scratched legs."

Winter nodded. "Would you like some company while you wait, Mother?"

"No, I'll be fine. You should get back to Blaise, I'm sure he'll be missing you."

"He'll be fine," Winter said, looking away.

"As will I."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

A brief pause. "Well alright then. Good luck Jacqueline dear," Winter said, kissing the top of her head quickly. "I'm sure you'll do well."

"Uh…thanks Mom."

She smiled, though as per the norm it didn't quite reach her eyes. A burst of snowflakes and blue sparks, and she was gone.

"Now off you three go. Get those Band-Aids on and that dress fixed up," Mother Nature said, taking a seat. "I'll be here."

* * *

"And that should be the last one on you, Fino," Jacqueline said, gently placing the last Band-Aid on his knee. She put the antiseptic back in the cupboard as Fino stretched his leg, making sure the Band-Aid was on nice and tight.

"Thank you, Jacqueline."

She smiled. "It's what I do. What's wrong Fiera? You haven't rushed off yet. I did you first expecting you to bolt to bed."

"I need to tell you something," Fiera said.

"Both of us do," Fino added, hopping down from the counter.

Jacqueline stood with her hands on her hips, squinting at her siblings. "What happened?"

"Mother Nature knows! She knows we know about Jack! We told her," Fiera said, hiding her face behind her hands.

"You did…what?"

"She knew we knew  _something_  and weren't telling Mom and Dad and she ended up finding out."

"Well…it was more like she made it easy for us to tell her," Fino said.

"So we did! Even though we weren't supposed to! We're sorry Jacqueline, we didn't mean to—"

"What made you think you weren't supposed to tell her?"

"Well, Mom and Dad didn't tell us for a reason…so we assumed we had to keep it to ourselves."

"From Mom and Dad yeah, probably. I…I don't know how they would've handled it." She flushed, looking away.

"It's just been real hard for us to keep it secret lately!"

"I know, I know. It's okay that you two told her."

"Well, technically Fiera did."

" _You're_  the one who told her the detailed story!"

"Guys, it doesn't matter who told her what. It sounds like she was going to find out one way or another. What else did she say?"

"She explained why Mom and Dad didn't tell us and she also explained the frozen heart thing."

Jacqueline blinked, very slowly. "The…oh. Geez."

"How come you're not froze?" Fiera asked.

"I was born thawed. Never had a reason to freeze, really, so here I am." She shrugged.

"So you dunno what kinda frozen sprite you would be?"

"I have no idea. Could be anything, really. Let's hope I never find out," she winked, the Twins' moods considerably lighter now.

"Thank you for listening to us Jacqueline," Fino said.

"And for the Band-Aids!" Fiera added.

"You're welcome," Jacqueline said, laughingly. "Now get your fiery butts outside and move those little flame "buddies" of yours. They crossed the border and I've had to rebuild the south tower at  _least_  five times."

"We will!" Fiera said, rushing out of the upstairs bathroom, Fino close behind.

Jacqueline smiled after her siblings, placing the damp facecloth she held on the towel rack to dry.

Mother Nature knew that they knew  _something_. This was…an interesting development. Running a hand through her hair and touching up the freeze-dried curls, Jacqueline frowned. If she picked up on Fiera and Fino's secret, then she most likely had picked up on everyone else's feelings.  _Including my own_ , she realized as she carefully repaired her cracking skirt.

"This is going to be a very interesting outing," Jacqueline thought out loud, heading downstairs.

* * *

So the Twins knew about Jack.

Mother Nature was, oddly enough, fairly calm about the whole thing. She understood Blaise and Winter's reasoning for not telling them, of course. The last time he had been at the house had been on the Day of Darkness fourteen-hundred or so years ago; the Twins hadn't even been born. It's not like the Twins would've  _ever_  seen him. In fact, they  _hadn't_.

She was surprised that Jacqueline of all people had told them the truth immediately. All things considered, Mother Nature would've thought Jacqueline would try to find a way to  _not_  tell them. But she had done so instantaneously, according to the children.

It's a good thing she was next, Mother Nature decided. Perhaps asking why she told them right away would be a good ice breaker for the young woman to reveal her true feelings to her Grandmother. That lingering anger was  _deeply_  troubling.

"All set?"

"If you are, then yes, Jacqueline."

"I'm sorry I took so long. They were a bit talkative and the scratches were small but numerous and I—"

Mother Nature held up a hand. "It's alright dear. I told you I could use the breather."

"Were they too much?"

"Not those siblings of yours. It's the  _other_  one who is."

"It was that bad?"

Mother Nature got up. "He froze Kilauea."

"Oh  _sleet_ , that's… _sleet_. How did he even manage that? Isn't it part of the National Parks?"

"It is. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it in broad daylight. Nonetheless, it's been fixed and now we have a seemingly  _smaller_  fix at hand."

"Right. I was wondering about that. It seems really small for a Legendary MELT."

"Oh, it may seem small, but it most definitely is not. It's a very good test for you, really. I'll explain why once we arrive. Now, do you know where exactly we're going?"

"No. I can't really pick up on the storm since it's not mine and…well, I'd rather not use  _that_  link."

"Say no more," Mother Nature said. "Grab on dear, I'll get us there nice and proper."

Jacqueline grabbed her grandmother's arm tightly. There was a pop and a bright light, and the two sprites disappeared from the parlour.

* * *

"Where did you get those shades from?"

"I have them on my person all the time," Jacqueline replied, as they materialized with another bright light and a pop. "Sunny winter days hurt the eyes after all, and that's what your poof is like, Mother Nature. It's an unnecessarily bright way to travel, really, why do you— _woah_."

Jacqueline's shades fell down her nose as she took in the scene before them. They were surrounded by foliage, and she could  _feel_  the heat trying very hard to press in, but the chill was keeping it out. The green she expected was replaced with the stark, snowy white of a light, powdery snowfall. It  _surrounded_  them. The ground held a dusting that was dense enough to make a slight crunch under her boot as Jacqueline stepped forward. They had appeared by one of the streams that branched out from the Amazon river; at least, that's what Jacqueline  _assumed_ —the stream had a light layer of ice on it and that was. That was  _very_  wrong, she knew; she could feel it.

"I know. It renders you speechless, doesn't it?"

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?" Jacqueline replied, voice cracking.

"A tad."

"Well you were right. It's definitely  _not_  a small storm. Is it covering the  _entirety_  of the Amazon?"

Mother Nature nodded. "By no means a small storm. That's why it is the perfect test for you, Jacqueline. Not only will you be using your gifts to do what you usually do; you'll also be doing the duty that Jack Frost does. And  _severely_  neglects, at times."

"You can say that again," Jacqueline mumbled.

"At the meeting today, your brother was almost suspended from the Council. Keeping that in mind, I decided this would be best because not only will this demonstration show me your Legendary capabilities and control over the element, as I've already said; it will demonstrate that you are ready to take his place if necessary. Which in light of recent events, could very well happen."

Jacqueline shoved her glasses into her dress pocket, nodding.

"Now then, let's begin. As with your siblings, this is your MELT; I will not help you in the slightest, unless things get a bit severe. And, of course, to warm this area up as you bring the storm out. You may be part heat sprite, but your genes did not take a liking to that side."

Jacqueline laughed. "Maybe not in power but I have my warm moments."

"You really do. Now then, whenever you're ready, you may begin."

Mother Nature stepped back and sat down, a large tree root moving up and widening to provide her seat. She crossed her legs and folded her hands together on her knee, ready and waiting.

"Let's hope this storm doesn't have an attitude," Jacqueline said. A strong, cold breeze blew and propelled Jacqueline upwards. "See you in Canada!" she shouted as she disappeared above the mass of grey storm clouds that covered the forest.

Mother Nature stared at the sky long after Jacqueline had disappeared. Now, all she had to do was wait; and, of course, figure out how to get the young sprite to open up to her.

* * *

Jacqueline reached the clear space above the clouds, breathing a sigh of relief. So far, so good; it was all business and she didn't need to explain herself to Mother Nature  _yet_.

She thought back to her lessons when she was much younger. Moving a storm was fairly easy—when it was your own. This one was not one of hers; it was one of Jack's and she was incredibly weary. It could be sassy; it  _could_  have an attitude. Worse, it could become  _sentient_. She  _really_  did not want to deal with a sentient storm tonight.

At least, not a literal one.

"Focus, Jacqueline," she said aloud, the wind keeping her afloat. The first thing she had to do was find the center of the storm. Snowstorms didn't have eyes; and if they did, you had yourself a blizzard. A  _bad_ one. That probably had an attitude and was very self-aware which always led to a sentient storm.

Pinpointing the center after some time, Jacqueline flew down to the large cloud and blew on it. Her frosty breath solidified it; she took a seat and began talking.

"You're not suppose to be here," she said.

The winds whipped; the storm replied.  _I know. It is much too warm here for me and I am very confused_.

"I can take you where you need to be fairly fast if you'd like."

_Coordinates?_

"I don't have any. It's a general area."

_Where?_

"The GTA and surrounding areas in Ontario."

 _I love the GTA! Yes, please take me there,_  the storm replied.  _I should very much love to disrupt traffic and make a proper snow day for people!_

"Gladly!"

* * *

Back on the ground, Mother Nature was gently eased out of her thoughtful revere as the snowflakes softly falling suddenly stopped. They were suspended in midair for a brief amount of time before they began to float upwards, back towards the clouds above.

The snow had stopped. The wind picked up, a proper north wind happily blowing in to push the clouds off in the proper direction. The clouds began to turn a dark blue as they began rushing off. It was fast becoming a blizzard.

"As it should be," Mother Nature said, standing up. Thanking the tree root as it happily sunk back down under the ground, Mother Nature took a deep breath in and stretched out her hands. Eyes closed, she concentrated.

The heat began to push back, the chill finally leaving the area Mother Nature had brought them to. Opening her eyes, she smiled, as the sounds of the animals that should be around began to start up again. She bent down, moving her skirts to the side, and placed both hands on the ground.

A bright green light spread out from her palms, racing across the landscape surrounding her. Had Jacqueline still been floating above the Amazon, she would have seen the whole area glowing green. The ice and snow began to melt, the water once again flowing as the ice dissipated. Thankfully, the Amazon River itself had not frozen completely; a relief as if it had, the moment it began to melt there could have been a potential for floods and other dire consequences as a result.

She got up, smoothing her dress as the green magic floated up into the air around her and disappeared. Basking in the warmth, she waited until she could feel the balance restored before disappearing in place once again, setting off to meet the storm—and Jacqueline—once they arrived.

* * *

If Mother Nature and Jacqueline were on the same page, then the peaceful park somewhere in southern Ontario that sat undisturbed that night would be where the storm would begin to arrive, and where the two sprites would meet up once more. It was silent and still, and though it was one of the major parks in the small town, it was deserted for the night (or so Mother Nature hoped).

It didn't take long for Mother Nature to notice the approaching storm. The wind picked up, the temperature dropped; she could tell that the wind chill was making it feel much colder than it actually was. A few snowflakes began to blow by, and Mother Nature smiled. The storm was supposed to blow into this region much earlier in the day; it would slowly make its way to the GTA and Toronto itself, promising over five centimetres of snow—enough to cancel busses and warrant more traffic than usual on the 401.

It may even become a blizzard, Mother Nature thought as the clouds approached. They were far darker than they had been before; perhaps it would be more akin to ten or fifteen centimetres of snow. It would make a lot of children happy, that's for sure—a blizzard like that was almost always a guaranteed snow day in Canada.

As the snowflakes began to fall more frequently, a small flurry of them began to form beside her, blue sparks mixed in as well. Jacqueline materialized beside her, grinning up at the clouds.

"It may become a blizzard," she said.

Mother Nature laughed. "That's alright. Nice job, Jacqueline dear."

"Thanks! It was a very polite storm which was shocking, considering  _who_  started it. It was very confused, and I think on the journey over it got a bit excited."

"I'm sure it's not the only one who was excited."

"I love a good blizzard, Grandmother. Both the literal thing  _and_  the ice cream version. Now you think  _that_  was a nice job? You haven't seen  _anything_  yet," Jacqueline winked.

"Really now?"

"Really!" Surveying the park, Jacqueline's hands turned blue as she flew forwards, touching all of the trees in her path. Frost bloomed on the bark, glistening in the lamp lights. She stopped and grinned at her work. Her face turned blue as she exhaled into her palms, which she threw forward; the plants all around her froze, clinking together in the wind. "Ta-da!" she finished, grinning.

"Now you're just showing off," Mother Nature said, joining the sprite's side.

"Maybe a little. It's just…such a pretty season," she said. She looked lost in thought for a moment. So much so that when she spoke up once again, it nearly startled Mother Nature. "I'm sorry I told the Twins about Jack. I…I don't know  _why_ , but when they asked me I just…I told them about him. I know that you and Mom and Dad didn't want to tell them, and I don't disagree, but—"

"I don't mind too much," Mother Nature interrupted. "It was their decision, after all. Yes, Winter and Blaise came to me to ask if they were doing the right thing…but I told them if they felt it was right then they should trust their instinct."

"I always thought you were of the same mind as them."

Mother Nature shrugged. "I definitely agree with them. Why tell them if he wasn't even  _there_  when they were born? I myself thought it would be better if they grew up without the kind of confusion _you_  grew up with."

Jacqueline sighed. "It took me  _forever_  to figure that out," she began, walking deeper into the wooded area as the snow fell.

"Is that why you left for so long?"

"I came back home every so often. I wasn't about to just cut all connections with Mom and Dad and those two fire tops like…like  _he_  did with me—them. I'm already similar  _enough_  to him, I don't need to act  _exactly_  like him as well."

"And who told you that you were similar to him? Who said you were exactly like him?"

"I just  _assumed_ …it made sense to me! The day he left I blacked out, and I woke up a week later upset because my favourite pajamas were ruined, Jack was gone, and my parents were being…weird. I knew he had done a bad thing, and with my parents' reactions to the fallout, you know, Winter freezing over and Blaise being incredibly tired and upset too, it made sense to me that it was…it was  _because_  of me. It was only after that day that Mom would look at me almost like she was  _disappointed_. I didn't know how to approach them and ask, and I was  _afraid_  to. And in the process…I kind of grew afraid of myself," she said, looking down at her hands. "Afraid of what I could do. Afraid of…becoming like him."

"Oh dear, Jacqueline—"

"So what  _else_  was I supposed to do? Spend another 500 or so years at home living in his shadow? Questioning myself? I didn't know  _what_  to do. That's when at the next summit, you know, the one where Midnight came because Day and Night were preoccupied? When she and I talked she suggested I go on a journey and so…I did. I talked to Mom and Dad and took the next ship out from the harbour into the real world."

"And was it helpful?"

"I got to explore and learn so  _much_  about myself and finally realize that I  _wasn't_  like him…and towards the end of those eight centuries, realize that the way my parents were? Yeah, not my fault! It was  _his_  fault! And he  _left_  me to deal with the fallout and…he left me  _alone_  Mother Nature. I'm so mad about it…and worse, I'm mad at  _myself_  for how long it  _took_  to realize that!"

There it was. "To realize it wasn't your fault?"

"Yes! And worse, it seems like nobody else realized that I wasn't like him! Not even my own Mom and Dad." She waved her hand, a bench of snow forming, and sat down defeated, holding her face in her hands.

"You  _know_  that's not true, surely."

"Nobody's ever told me otherwise. So, what am I supposed to do? It's not like I  _want_  to bring that up with Mom and Dad…it's hard for them. Especially for Mom."

"But you  _need_  to bring it up with them. Remember Jacqueline, sometimes what you want isn't necessarily what you need. You may not  _want_  to talk to Blaise and Winter about it…but you  _need_  to."

"…I know."

Mother Nature walked over, taking a seat beside Jacqueline. "I've always found it fun to sit and watch a snowfall. They're very beautiful, you know; you're quite right about that. When your Mother was growing up with her sisters, she would always have a flurry somewhere in the garden. That was always nice to watch."

"Do you think she ever felt out of place growing up?"

Mother Nature paused. "Do you feel out of place?"

"Yes. At home, I feel like a constant reminder of what both Mom and Dad lost. Out in the city, I feel like a constant reminder of what  _he_  did and what he  _does_ , even now. The volcano, the snowstorm, the geese…on my own, I was just me. I didn't have any shadow covering me. Now that I'm back and  _understand_  what happened…I feel even  _more_  out of place."

"I don't think I can answer that for you. At least, not in a way that you'll believe. But listen, Jacqueline dear. I can tell you one thing with certainty. You are  _not_  your brother, and your parents  _know_  that. I know it's hard to think that, especially growing up and thinking otherwise with nobody telling you the truth. You are  _not_  Jack."

She tapped her foot on the ground; the snow moved out of the way and revealed a smooth, frozen pond in front of them, their reflections staring back at them. "You have never been frozen, Jacqueline. And while you may look frosty on the outside," she stopped and tapped Jacqueline's head gently with her hand.

"Hey!"

"You aren't on the inside."

Jacqueline stared at her sudden thawed appearance. Her hair was brown and a mess instead of the mostly neat white curls she usually wore. Her face was warm—a happy blush on her cheeks—and her blue eyes were just as warm. She smiled; Mother Nature could feel the anger the sprite was holding slowly ebb away.

"Thanks, Grandmother," Jacqueline said.

"You're most welcome. Now then, I think we've just about finished here. Any longer and we'll blend in with the snow!"

"I can  _literally_  do that, wanna see?"

Mother Nature laughed. "I don't doubt that for a second, no need for a demonstration, my dear."

"Alright," Jacqueline said, standing up and once again refreezing her dress and righting her curls. "I guess I'm gonna have to talk to Mom and Dad soon then."

"Sooner than you think, I expect," Mother Nature added, standing up as well. "But for now, let's return to business, shall we?"

Jacqueline grinned, straightening and folding her hands behind her back. "Yes! Let's," she said.

"Jacqueline. Tonight, you have shown me that you are indeed a master of your craft. You've more than proven your Legendary status, and you've demonstrated that taking on your Legate duties would not be a problem for you. Thus, by the power vested in me, by me, I have judged your performance today and am more than happy to formally pronounce you, Jacqueline Frost, officially a Legendary winter sprite,  _and_  Legate. You have successfully passed your MELT."

A cool breeze blew, Jacqueline briefly surrounded by light, and then everything was once again still. Aside from the storm winds beginning to blow in, that is. Mother Nature was surprised when she found herself being hugged by Jacqueline the moment the light diminished.

"Thank you, Mother Nature."

"I'm just doing my job."

"Not for that. I mean…thank you for talking to me. And for listening to me. I…I really appreciate it," she finished, letting go.

"I'm still just doing my job. The grandmother one, that is," Mother Nature said, winking. Jacqueline giggled. "Besides, you needed it."

"Yeah. I really did. I guess I just needed a bit of a push." She shrugged. "What's the plan now?"

"Head back, let you rest up as well, and  _I_  will go check in on your parents."

"Do you think they're doing okay?"

"I'm…not so sure and quite frankly, that's concerning me."

Jacqueline nodded. "Then let's get going," she said, pulling out her shades again and grabbing Mother Nature's elbow. "They need you, too."

Mother Nature smiled and thought of the cozy powder blue parlour back at Frost Manor. With a pop and a flash, the two sprites were gone, the storm hitting the region full force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if anyone here has talked to a Canadian or is a Canadian but let me tell you, I fucking hate the 401 I always always ALWAYS catch traffic just getting into the GTA (greater Toronto Area for those who may not know, not grand theft auto ;D) EVEN WHEN I PLAN AROUND IT! (Generally if I leave Kingston in time to get to Scarborough around 2 I'll just miss traffic. That. That never happens I always run right into it. I hate the 401)
> 
> 401 rant aside now, here's Jacqueline's chapter! She was the OC that started it all--I came up with her first and then the rest of the Frosts! I hope you love my shitty winter child as much as I do :)
> 
> Please R&R! Or I guess, Kudos and Comments? I live for reviews, honestly, wanna make me smile for days? Tell me what you loved about this fic because dang. (Also, an aside: after figuring out how bad the volcano thing was, I looked into the worst case scenario for the snowstorm in the Amazon, and holy heck that also would've been disastrous! Floods! Food shortages! Plant life dying! Like, damn Jack, what was the point of all this? How would this have helped you take over Christmas, pal? I HAVE QUESTIONS)


	5. The Parents

**Chapter 5: The Parents**

They arrived at the Manor to silence, which only  _briefly_  concerned Jacqueline. A quick check on her siblings found them snoozing in bed, still in their clothes. A second quick check found that prior to passing out, they had completely removed their little fiery fiends and Jacqueline's south tower was finally safe for the night.

Mother Nature said her farewell to the sprite who had decided to get some sleep as well, and searched for Winter's location. Finding it, she popped out once more and reappeared in the mall.

It was quiet, and empty. She made her way to the mall's Santa display—this was where Jack had placed the cut outs, of  _course_. The cut out was gone—and so were Winter and Blaise, apparently. A quick walk around the large arrangement found the two figures in the distance, sitting on one of the park benches located throughout the mall, fake trees standing tall on either side.

She made her way towards them, frowning. There was…a lot wrong with the scene. Winter sat frozen, almost quite literally, as far to the left as possible. Blaise sat as far to the right as possible, looking upset himself; Mother Nature was pretty sure there was a bit of steam wafting off of his check—an evaporated tear, perhaps? Ah, most definitely, she realized, upon coming closer and noting the frozen tears on Winter's face.

"Blaise? Winter? Is…everything okay?"

"No," Blaise said, his voice cracking. "It most definitely is not."

"Winter?"

"She's…" Blaise sighed. "Sometimes, when it gets…bad, Winter quite literally freezes," he said.

"That's what this is?" Mother Nature whispered. Winter hadn't moved or blinked or said a word since Mother Nature's appearance. "I've never seen her this bad, not during  _any_  of her freezes."

"I usually just stay close and wait when this happens." He shook his head. "We were doing so well, Mother Nature. We'd gotten about half of these done when…"

"When what?"

"She stopped, and stared at one, like  _really_  stared at it. She started crying a bit, and walked over here. I followed her and sat with her, until she froze up. Then I moved to the side to…well, to wait. I try my best to be there for her, Mother Nature. When this happens, I don't know what to do, so I just…stay close."

Blaise looked to the side, uncharacteristically quiet, his hair barely a simmer. He sighed; there was something  _more_  to it, Mother Nature realized.

"What else happened, Blaise."

"This is all my fault," he said, his head dropping.

"I'm sorry?"

"If I hadn't hounded Jack as much as I did, then maybe he never would have been as bad as he was! Is! Maybe…maybe the Day of Darkness would never have happened, and…I went wrong somewhere, and I wish I knew  _where_. All I know is that after years of thinking about it, and being so  _angry_  about it…I've realized it was my fault. Where did I go wrong?"

"Sometimes I think that too," Winter spoke up quietly, her lips barely moving.

"Winter!" Blaise slid over, carefully side hugging the petite season, drawing her closer. "Why would you ever think that? You didn't confront him. You tried very hard to  _avoid_  it; you were shielding us from each  _other_."

"Exactly." She turned around, a tear slipping out and trailing halfway down her face before freezing. "I was never really very tough on him, and I should've been. I should've supported you. But I didn't, and look what happened! Look at what it did to us. To Jacqueline."

Blaise was crying now, the sizzle as the tears hit his warm skin and evaporated very telling. "But that wasn't your fault, Winter!"

"It wasn't yours either! You…you were right. He's almost exactly like your brother." Blaise looked away, flushed. "Look at what he did. The volcano…the Amazon…the geese—and these incredibly tacky cardboard cut outs. That could've exposed  _everything_ , just like Pyros  _did_." She sighed. "If I hadn't cut my connection with him then I wouldn't have shrugged off Jacqueline's weird feelings all week. I should've listened to her."

"My brother doesn't really strike me as the cardboard cut out type of person," Blaise said. Winter let out a small laugh, still teary-eyed. "And Winter, you can't be sure you could've stopped what we're fixing today. Just like I can't be sure I could've prevented the Day of Darkness."

"It wasn't your fault," Winter said.

"It wasn't yours either," Blaise countered.

"Perhaps the question we should be asking is where did we  _both_  go wrong? We're  _both_  his parents."

"If I may," Mother Nature spoke up. "I don't quite think that you were both in the wrong. I don't think you went wrong at all."

The couple stared at Mother Nature, questioningly.

"The both of you seem to be forgetting something. You're Jack's parents, yes. But you're  _not_  Jack. He was an adult when he made the decision to leave; a young adult, sure, but an adult nonetheless. What he did isn't your burden to bear."

"It's hard not to," Winter spoke up. "I think of it a lot. I look at Jacqueline and how wonderful she is, and how grown up and how  _well_  she turned out; then I think, what happened to her brother? Where did I go wrong? And the I can't  _stop_  thinking about that."

"I think that same thing occasionally too. Perhaps your Mother is right, though."

"There's also always the curse to think about," Mother Nature interrupted, lost in thought.

"Not the  _curse_."

"Blaise—"

"I know, Winter! I know. I see your point. But he…a curse takes a very powerful warlock to lay it down. Someone half warlock like me or Pyros couldn't lay down a curse, unless we were  _completely_  consumed by hatred! You see what I mean, surely?"

"You saw what he did!" Winter said. "How can you think that he  _wasn't_  completely consumed by hatred? I think Jack's shenanigans are proof enough that perhaps the curse  _is_  real. As much as you don't want to admit it Blaise."

"The man started a thousand-year war just because he assumed your parents were going to choose you as heir, and he wanted to rule that badly, Blaise. He's not as… _good_  as you think he is. I think the curse is real. I think it did work. And if anything, it just goes to show that you two really  _aren't_  responsible for what Jack did."

"I…I suppose," Blaise said, speechless.

"You know…Jack hasn't started a war. He pales in comparison to Pyros. Yes, he was on a bad path, and he  _did_  take a bad path…but it wasn't your fault, Blaise. And nor was it yours, Winter. Perhaps he may come to his senses one of these days, and come back and see you all."

"Hmm," Blaise frowned, looking unconvinced.

"Don't dwell so much on the past, dears. After all, you have three lovely kids at home and they're…they've blown my mind tonight," Mother Nature said, a knowing smile on her face.

"They really are something," Blaise remarked, Winter smiling behind her hand.

"They really are," she agreed.

"I think that they're proof enough that the two of you did a good job. The three of them love you both very much, you know. They only want what's best, just like you do for them, and I do for the two of you. So, trust me when I say this: it was not your fault. It was Jack's. And one day, he'll have to learn what damage he caused and eventually take responsibility for it."

"Wouldn't that be something," Blaise scoffed.

"Blaise?"

"Yes darling?"

"If Jack…if he did come back…what do you think you would do?"

He pondered for a moment, choosing his words carefully before he replied. "…I was very angry. And just as sad as you are and, honestly, sometimes I still  _am_. But my anger burnt out…a long time ago. I think if something were to happen and he came back…I would quite possibly welcome him home. As long as you were okay, and happy, then I would be happy, too. I just want to be there for you."

"And you have been, for so many centuries Blaise. You're my rock," she said, kissing his cheek. Blaise smiled, his hair burning gently. He grabbed her hands, squeezing softly.

"Winter, perhaps…perhaps the both of us made mistakes. We immortals aren't perfect, after all."

"Not at all," Mother Nature agreed.

"But look at our other three lovely kids. Jacqueline, Fino, Fiera…they turned out alright."

Winter laughed. "Just alright?"

"I think they're brilliant. And amazing. And troublesome at times…but that's kids for you," Blaise said, shrugging as Winter laughed. He gently wiped the frozen tears off of her face, kissing her forehead.

"All things considered," she said, "I think we're doing okay."

Blaise laughed, grabbing her in a big bear hug and swooping her off her feet. "I think so, too," he grinned.

Mother Nature smiled, happy that they had talked, and she hadn't needed to pry too much. A lot of things were coming together; she knew it had been a long evening, but she could feel the balance within the family slowly leveling out. Now the kids just had to talk to their parents. First though, (before figuring out  _how_  that would happen since two of the kids were currently sleeping) they needed to finish the task at hand before sunrise.

"Now, I know this evening has been hard. And I have a feeling it may be harder going forward now. I understand that unlike the children, it may be a little…tough for the two of you to accept that you're not to blame. It will take time, but soon enough you'll accept it, if you haven't already started doing so yet."

Still engulfed in their hug, the two sprites glanced at each other and nodded.

"Excellent. Now if you two lovebirds are done with this—"

"—never," Blaise said, squishing Winter tighter.

" _Blaise_ ," she said, laughing.

"—we best get to it. I'll help you grab the rest of these; then we'll be done in no time."

And so, finally letting go of Winter, the trio got to work.

* * *

Jacqueline couldn't sleep.

She had tried; but it was hopeless. Her mind was too busy running around in circles. The clock on her nightstand told her it was nearly five am. Sighing, she got up and threw on her dress, heading downstairs to eat something.

She had been up thinking about everything, to be honest. What she had told Mother Nature, and what the Twins had told her as well. She was also beginning to get worried because her parents hadn't poofed back in yet, which was pretty concerning. Despite being two floors up, her hearing was good enough that their teleporting back in would be  _quite_  the noise.

She headed down the spiral staircase, briefly wondering if she should check on the Twins before going downstairs. Hearing silence, she figured they were still sleeping and headed downstairs. She walked past the parlour, briefly glancing in—no sign of them. She kept going, getting to the kitchen and heading right to the fridge to grab the milk. She closed the door and turned around, nearly screaming in the process.

" _Frostbite_! Fino, you startled me!" she gasped, hand on her chest.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to."

"I thought you were sleeping," she said.

"I was awake," he replied, following her to the pantry. "I heard you go downstairs and figured I'd come keep you company." He hopped onto one of the stools on the island, watching Jacqueline gather the ingredients for pancakes.

"Thanks," she said, smiling.

He shrugged. "I had a hard time sleeping last night."

"Welcome to the club."

"I mean I slept through the night fine, but I've been up for the past hour thinking about what we told Mother Nature, and what she said about us being unbalanced, and…I wanna tell Mom and Dad what we know."

"You wanna tell them you know about Jack?"

"Yeah. I think Fiera does too, but she's passed out so—"

"No I'm not!"

Now it was Fino's turn to scream as Fiera hopped onto the stool beside him.

"You scared me!"

"Whoops."

"I thought you were sleeping?"

"I heard you leave the room and figured that meant it was time to get up," his twin replied. "It's real early. Are Mom and Dad back?"

"Not yet," Jacqueline replied, throwing several pancakes on the large griddle.

"Oh, okay. Business time then! I agree with Fino! I wanna tell them what we know."

Jacqueline inhaled deeply, staring intently at the bubbling pancakes. "Are you guys sure?"

"Positive!" They said together.

"Okay. Then I think you should go for it. And…and I'll tell them who told you. Mother Nature made it seem like she wanted to get us all to talk. I guess that's how we'll start it off. Are you two sure you want to do this?"

"Absolutely!" they said together, again.

"Then let's eat, and after we eat…we'll go wait for them and…and we'll tell them everything."

* * *

The trio arrived an hour later in the parlour, exhausted but finally done their job. In a nick of time, too—the sun was beginning to rise; the malls would all be opening shortly. They were surprised to see the kids sitting together on the couch, the twins leaning against Jacqueline, who had her feet up on an ottoman. They looked sleepy.

"Did the three of you get any rest at all?" Winter asked.

"Me and Fino did! Not Jacqueline, though."

"It's fine, I'll sleep later."

Mother Nature stared at the kids, and at the parents, and back again. Something…something was  _up_.

"Mom, Dad…Fiera and I have something we need to tell you," Fino said, the fiery siblings getting up.

Blaise and Winter shared a look. "What's wrong?" Blaise asked.

"We know about our brother," Fino said.

"We know about Jack," Fiera added.

"Oh my," Winter said, both she and Blaise stunned.

"I'm the one who told them," Jacqueline added, standing up.

Silence reigned for a bit before Blaise cleared his throat. "It sounds like we  _might_  need to have a chat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a down day so I figured I would throw the next chapter up on here for all you ao3 lovelies! Hi hey there hello! Here's the chapter about the parents! I love Blaise and Winter soo much, I love their relationship, I love everything about them. EVERYTHING
> 
> Their chapter use to be (used to be? I've never been clear on which to use, if someone could shout at me and let me know which it is I would be one happy camper) really bad? I rewrote this entire story recently and it turned out a LOT better than it did last time! a lot of the issued Blinter have is fixed in the resolution with the kiddos which is the next chapter which will be up. Whenever??? I mean, it's written, the whole thing is written but I kinda like updating it every so often instead of all at once sooooo ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> I'll stop rambling now :P Please comment! Kudo!! Etc. etc!!! And thank you for the kudos so far, they're lovely to see in the inbox (just like comments heh)


	6. The Resolution

**Chapter 6: The Resolution**

It was silent for a bit, none of the Frosts moving. Mother Nature cleared her throat, heading towards the parlour entrance. "You know, it looks like a lovely sunrise this morning. I know none of you mind the cold…how about we step outside?"

"Sounds good..." Jacqueline said, slowly. "Maybe you should lead the way out, Mother Nature?"

With a gentle incline of her head, Mother Nature headed towards the front door, stepping out into the dawn. She headed directly towards the gazebo sitting at the side of the large grounds. She made her way up and took the farthest seat possible, watching as the rest of the family followed in behind her, making themselves comfortable. The moment Winter was seated in her favourite corner, Blaise beside her, the Twins began to talk. They stood oddly still beside each other; they were incredibly nervous—you didn't have to be Mother Nature to tell, that was for sure.

"We didn't mean to find out, honest. It just sorta…happened."

"Fino tripped on an old box in the library and we found some old pictures—"

"And he was in them, and we didn't recognize him at all, so we went to ask Jacqueline because she was around. She told us who he was and how he left and how it upset you both and how that's why you didn't tell us."

"And then Grandma explained the rest!"

"We understand why you decided not to tell us," Fino continued. "Grandmother explained it to us. You just wanted to protect us, and have us grow up without being hurt by what he did."

"You wanted us to grow up not confused, like Jacqueline! Since that's why she left and all," Fiera added.

"That's why you left?" Blaise asked, turning to Jacqueline. The sprite blanched, almost falling out of her lean.

"Is that…is that true, Jacqueline?" Winter asked.

Jacqueline sighed. "Yeah. Basically." She pushed off of the pillar, playing with her sleeves as she began to talk. "That day…when Jack left…I—it was—I didn't understand!" she clenched her fists, closing her eyes tightly to try and keep her composure. "There was yelling, and fighting sounds, and I was  _scared_. I went downstairs I—I didn't  _understand_  what was going on! I knew you guys were hurt and I didn't know what to do and Jack wouldn't go back to help you—" her arms were flailing around now, her face turning red. "I talked to him outside then suddenly I was in pain, and then it was dark, and then I woke up a week later and Jack was gone, and you  _both_  weren't there and I was alone!"

"We weren't gone for long," Blaise said.

"No, but it felt like something had changed, and I didn't understand  _what_  it was. Mom took me to the Springs and I got better but after that, growing up, the only connection I could make for the change was that Jack was gone and I was here, and I was  _just like him_. I've got the whole winter sprite thing down, and  _he's_  the one who taught me, and when even Bernard couldn't explain why you guys were acting weird I figured that maybe…maybe it was me," she finished quietly, hugging herself. A few tears escaped and she wiped them away, frustrated. "When I did certain things and Mom looked at me disappointed and Dad looked at me with a small frown I—it had to be me. I'm his sister. And  _his_  Legate on top of that too! I was— _am_ —next in line for his title. It made sense to me. It…it had to be me, right?"

"No, no, no…it was never you, Jacqueline! I—"

Blaise put a warm hand on Winter's shoulder. "Let's let her finish, dear." He turned to Jacqueline now, listening intently. "So you thought the best thing to do was to remove  _yourself_  from the picture?" Blaise asked.

"Not…not really." She took a deep breath in. "I was…lost. I didn't know who I was, and by the time I was twelve-hundred I had gotten  _tired_  of living in his shadow and constantly not knowing why everything was happening the way it was. So, when a fellow Legate's Legate suggested I take a leave, I decided that it wasn't a bad idea."

"That's the day you asked us about travelling the World," Blaise recalled.

"Yeah. And you both said yes, as long as I let you guys know I was safe and all that. So off I went. I did  _so_  much. I hung out with nobles, dated a Princess, was accused of witchcraft several times over, froze a  _prison_! I was all over the place, and it was…great!" she smiled wistfully. "I was learning who I was. And towards the end of all that, just before the piracy, it hit me at a ball one evening when a Viscountess was complaining about her brother. It wasn't my fault. It  _never_  had been! It was  _Jack's_  fault that you were both the way you are, that  _I_  was the way I was. It was  _never_  me." Her face fell. "Even knowing that though…I still had those same fears, because even though I realized the truth…it seemed like nobody else knew that. Nobody else realized that I  _wasn't_  like him. Not even you two," she finished, gesturing to her parents.

"Jacqueline dear," Winter stood up. Closing the space between herself and Jacqueline fairly fast, she put her hands on Jacqueline's shoulders. "It was never you, my darling snowflake.  _Never_."

"Then why do you look at me the way you do? Like I'm the reason you're so upset?"

A few tears began to fall down Winter's cheeks. She moved her hand to Jacqueline's cheek, gently rubbing away  _her_  escaped tears. "It's not because of you being like your brother. You aren't in the  _slightest_. It's not that; it's never  _been_  that. I look at you, and I see this beautiful young sprite who has grown into a wonderful woman. You've survived  _so_  much and you're still warm. You  _don't_  have a frozen heart. I look at you Jacqueline, and I see so much good—and then I wonder where it was I went wrong with your brother," she finished, dropping her hands.

"That's why you look so upset?"

She nodded. "It's always there, in the back of my mind. That it's all  _my_  fault this happened. Then it's all I can think of, and I get upset and can't even enjoy the warmth you bring me."

"Mom—"

"It's not your fault Winter. If anyone is to blame, it's me!"

"Blaise," Winter said, spinning on her heel. "We talked about this! It's not your fault  _either_."

"But it's not yours either, Winter. If there's any blame being thrown around, we should  _share_  it. We're both his parents. But what Mother Nature has told us tonight—what I'm  _trying_  to accept as  _hard_  as it is, is that it isn't our fault, Winter. Or yours for that matter, Jacqueline. And yet all three of us have sat here blaming ourselves! Like it was our fault! But it wasn't. It's his  _own_  fault. It's…his burden to bear, not ours."

"Sorry to interrupt your moment here," Fino began.

"I'm not!" Fiera said, angry.

"Okay, maybe not so sorry but…what…what exactly is it that Jack did? We know it was bad. We know it went down in history known as "The Day of Darkness" but…how bad was it? It would be  _nice_  to know a little more, I think."

"That's why we never wanted you to know," Blaise said. "It's not something you two need to weigh you down as well."

"We know that!" Fiera nearly shouted, standing tall now, her fists at her side and hair beginning to burn  _high_. "We  _know_  it wasn't our fault! We weren't even BORN! Growing up not knowing him was great and all, except for that we noticed! We noticed that the three of you were upset by something! And we had no idea  _what_! And it would be NICE if Fino and I could know the deep dark family secrets too, like every OTHER family in the world! I know we're small but we're twelve-hundred for flame's sake! Jacqueline was travelling the  _world_  at our age! I'm TIRED of not knowing, and then finding out, but STILL having to keep it quiet! What did he  _DO_!?"

"He almost killed your sister!" Winter shouted.

Fiera's hair immediately extinguished and silence reigned. Winter sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "That's why we didn't want to tell you. How could we tell you about your brother, when he almost killed your sister? How could…how could  _we_  have let that happen, and let the two of you know that?" she wiped the tears that were fast pouring out of her eyes now, sniffling as she took in the breath she needed to continue. "What would that say about  _us_  as parents? How would that effect you growing up?"

It was silent again before Fino spoke up this time. His hand on Fiera's shoulder, trying to keep her from getting upset again, he took in his own deep breath. "We figured that what Jack did was…bad. And we know how hard it is for you to tell us. You especially, Momma. We understand…but  _both_  of us wanna understand  _more_. Please…please tell us what he did.  _Please_."

Blaise sighed. Getting up, he walked towards Winter, passing her his hanky. He stared at the Twins as Winter wiped her tears away. They sat down, staring up expectantly. Blaise glanced at Winter, eyebrow raised; she nodded. He cleared his throat and began to tell the tale.

"It happened fourteen-hundred and fifty-six years ago," Blaise began, taking a seat now himself. "Jack was about twenty-nine hundred. Jacqueline was about five-hundred. It was early afternoon when Jack arrived at home, and I stopped him in the kitchen. Since the beginnings of Christmas and Santa heading that holiday, your brother had been acting out a bit more than usual. A lot, really. The things you saw today—the volcano, the snow in the Amazon? He did things like that all the time, and that month alone he had done…much too much. I was beginning to get concerned; a lot of the things he was doing reminded me of things your Uncle did."

"Uncle Pyros? The evil guy who started the millennium war?  _That_  Pyros?"

"That very one," Blaise replied. "I decided that day to have a talk with him, to warn him  _off_  that path. I told him how Pyros had done this sort of thing too, and how it had led to a huge war, a revelation to the mortals…that sort of thing."

Blaise leant back, looking very tired. "Well, your brother didn't appreciate that comparison very much. He told me that the Millenia War had nothing to do with him. He accused me of not trusting him, of not letting him do what he needed to do…he was right, in a way; I didn't trust him to make a good choice himself." Blaise sighed before continuing. "He kept going; he told me how unfair it was that Santa could waltz in and take everything that was Jack's and leave him with  _nothing_."

"All the recognition that was once your brother's was slowly going towards Santa, as his gift giving became more well known and commonplace," Winter explained. "Jack thought that he needed to take back the season, as a result. I believe those were more or less his exact words."

Blaise nodded. "He got angrier, and so did I. Both of us were too stubborn to give up the fight. Your Mother began…"

"I was crying…a tad," Winter supplied. "I couldn't bear to see them fight. They were both growing angry enough that I was afraid there'd be element fights."

"Like, snowballs and fireballs?" Fiera asked.

"Exactly. And I was right. Sure enough, as they argued, your brother lost control and icicles flew. Then your father retaliated, trying to stop them midair with fire. I was asking them to stop, but it wasn't working. All I could do was protect them from each  _other_."

"Shortly after Jack got the upper hand. Admittedly, I was out of practise; a few of his icicles went flying, and caught your Mother. She was stuck to the wall."

"Both arms were, and that was quite a nice dress that got ruined. I couldn't wedge them out—I didn't have a good angle and I could feel the scratches were a bit worse than I thought. Your father got very upset, but soon enough he too was quite literally pinned down."

"At that point he turned and left, and we could  _hear_  the storm outside beginning to grow. And that's when we heard your sister rushing down the stairs. We redoubled our efforts, but it was too late. We heard the door slam shut, and realized that he had left—and Jacqueline had followed. Outside…" Blaise stopped, taking a deep breath in.

"Dad. Just  _tell_  them. Nitty gritty and all."

"I—he—"

Jacqueline exhaled, pushing herself off of the pillar she had once again leant on. "I had come downstairs, scared of what was happening. I asked if he was okay, and noticed he was leaving. Mom and Dad called out to me, but I didn't listen. I asked him to go back, to help them, but he  _wouldn't_. He told me to leave him alone. I didn't, of course; I followed him outside. I asked him why he was leaving. Who would teach me? Who would be my friend? What would I do without him there? I told him he was doing something really bad, and when we got to the gate, I told him—" she paused, a small, cold laugh escaping. "—I told him he was going to be on the naughty list forever. Not my  _best_  choice of words, all things considered. He turned around, really angry now. The winds were whipping, ice was flying everywhere, and Jack told me  _again_  to leave him alone. He waved his hand and…there were three icicles, and they hit me. Right in the gut."

" _Oh!_ " Fino shouted, grimacing. "Yuck!"

"You got stabbed!" Fiera shouted.

"Big time," Jacqueline agreed.

"Do you have scars?"

"Fiera!"

"They're  _blue_."

" _Jacqueline!_ "

"I never saw them coming. Not until they had hit me. He was gone, and everything went black. The worst part of it all was that I don't know if it was an accident…or not. And honestly? I don't think I  _want_  to know."

"By the time your Mother had managed to free us, we were too late. We got outside, heard the scream, and saw Jack leave. We rushed towards your sister, afraid it was almost too late."

"I couldn't remove them, not without hurting her more. So your Father melted them as best as he could until we could get her the attention she needed. Once we were inside, and we had taken care of the bleeding, I…"

"Your Mother insta-froze. We did our best to take care of Jacqueline's wounds, but after that…"

"I left your Father to do it all himself. I felt like I was in a daze; I didn't know how to process it. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I froze. And then I passed out."

"Both she and Jacqueline were out for nearly a week. The storm raged for that long. Your Mother was out, but your sister…she was far worse. The day after, she was surrounded by a call."

Jacqueline's jaw dropped. "You mean like Rosehaven magic?"

Blaise nodded.

"Holy sleet," Jacqueline whispered. "I  _super_  almost died."

"The very next day the magic left, and you were still here, and I was so relieved but still so  _afraid_. You had almost died and I thought…I thought your Mother might have frozen herself to death, to be frank."

"So…what changed?" Fino asked.

"Well a few days in, Bernard appeared at our doorstep. Santa had sent him because he couldn't get through to Mother Nature. Things had toned down and he was kind enough to watch Jacqueline so I could make sure Winter was okay. The week ended, the storm left, your Mother woke up."

"The moment it ended I grabbed Jacqueline and rushed to the Springs. Thankfully, they had been left untouched. I brought your sister there and she woke up."

"I spent the rest of the next week thawing the continent with Mother Nature, your Aunt Summer, and a few other fire-gifted beings. Things got back to normal for everyone—but not for us."

"And that's what happened," Winter said, solemnly. "There are the deep dark family secrets, in detail, for the both of you. I hope this has given you the understanding the two of you need," she finished, sincere.

"I think it did, yeah," Fino said.

"So that's why you're frozen" Fiera said, calmer now. "Grandmother Nature explained the frozen heart thing to us and…I dunno about Fino but I'm glad to know how it happened. It helps me understand better."

"Me too," Fino said. "Mom, we know how bad it was for you and Dad and Jacqueline. And we understand that it hurt you all lots, and made your heart freeze. It makes a  _lot_  of things easier for us to understand," Fino finished, glancing at his twin. She nodded.

"We know that we can't make you unfreeze, even if I was as hot as the sun! That's why we're gonna try our best to be there for you! And support you how you need! Cause that's what Grandma says is best to do!"

"And your Grandmother is right," Blaise said. "We can't "fix" you, darling, because there's nothing  _to_  fix. I want to see you warm and smiling again and I know the best way to do that is to just  _be_  there for you; and now you two know, too."

"And you always have been there for me," Winter said, a smile lighting up her whole face. "You're my rock, Blaise, and I love you. And you two little balls of fire…I may be cold but you two always warm me right up. And Jacqueline." Winter stared at her daughter, still smiling. "I could  _never_  be disappointed in you. I'm proud of you, so,  _so_  proud."

Jacqueline blushed, looking away. A small smile was on her face now, too. "At least I turned out alright, right?"

Both parents laughed and Jacqueline, tears running down her cheeks, rushed towards her Mom and hugged her very, very tightly. "I love you Mom," she said, trying to give as much warmth as she possibly could in their hug.

There was a low cracking sound; Mother Nature blinked. It sounded…familiar…

"We do too!" Fiera shouted. "Lots and lots!" she ran and joined the hug too, Fino right behind her. Winter was laughing now, a rosy blush appearing on her face.

Mother Nature stood up, shocked.

"All four of us do," Blaise said, grabbing all four of them and hugging them tightly. "We're here for you, dear."

"We're all here for each  _other_ ," Winter said. "And look, that warmed my heart right up."

Mother Nature's smile was just as big as the newly-thawed Winter's smile was. She watched as Winter laughed, hugging the kids even tighter, Blaise squeezing all of them at once. A welcome warmth shot through her. They were balanced; Mother Nature breathed a sigh of relief.

The sun had crept above the horizon, the light bathing the gazebo in a warm glow. The snow sparkled, framing the group hug in such a way that Mother Nature decided this would be the perfect time to pop on out and get some well-deserved rest herself.

And with that image ingrained in her head, Mother Nature silently vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N-In which Winter's maternal instincts scream so hard, she thaws :P. Well, that's not quite the reason she thaws-it's love! This was one of the big things that bothered me about MtF when I originally posted it on ff.net. It was implied that she thawed here, in my mind, but I never made it evident, you know? So if this isn't evident enough then holy heck how much more obvious can I get? xD YOU LOVELIES OVER HERE ARE GETTING THE PRIMO CONTENT!
> 
> I have had this as a draft for like, a month and it only occurred to me today that I never posted it so ah, whoops! This brings the Frost Family's arc more or less to a close. They're all balanced nicely now and Mother Nature is going to take a hell of a long nap because DAMN. I have one more chapter before I wrap up this part of the Crystal Springs works! I MIGHT post CS itself over here come December, we'll see. If you do want more, feel free to check it out over on ff.net!! I have the same pen name there, and have the next story that this was a sort of prelude to posted! Up to about chapter 21--it was totally finished but I 'm rewriting it because it needed a nice update, dang. 
> 
> Okay I've rambled enough here, comment! Kudos and such!!! I love all of the feedback, makes me smiles for days!


	7. The Temporary Solution

**Chapter 7: The Temporary Solution**

"Well that certainly was an interesting turn of events," Father Time said. He had arrived unexpectedly at the Garden as Mother Nature sat with her afternoon tea, making sure she had taken care of  _all_  of Jack's little stunts—just in case there was one they had missed.

"I hadn't counted on the family being as  _off_  as they were. The twins were nearly  _exploding_  with the effort it was taking them to not bring him up with their parents. Jacqueline had a lot of anger going on, and fear; which did tone down  _decidedly_  once she talked to Blaise and Winter as well."

"Winter thawing was perhaps the most unexpected of the events, I should think."

Mother Nature sipped her tea. "Incredibly so. But I'm  _glad_  it happened. She's been like that for fourteen hundred years, Father Time."

"Indeed."

"Now then, what is it that brings you down here? Not just my visit with Winter, I hope."

"Partially, to be frank. I was curious to see how they were holding up."

"And the other portion?"

"I suspect a big shift is coming. I've been looking to see how Jack being up North for such a long time is and in most of the timelines there's this brief blackout, and I'm not quite sure  _what_  it is. I know you expressed concern at his being there as well."

"Good heavens, the man has it out for Santa. Concern is putting it lightly. I have high hopes that this will help straighten him up but—"

"Considering his track record, you're concerned and rightfully so. I unfortunately can't help you much there, Mother Nature; I have not yet been able to tell if this is a good thing…or not."

_Allow me to be of assistance…_

Both Mother Nature and Father Time groaned as a cold wind blew. The light grew dim as the trees seemed to block it out completely. A cloaked figure appeared perched on Mother Nature's desk. His hood was already down as he full appeared with a smirk, his usual cloud of smoke making him look semi incorporeal.

"Fate," Mother Nature said, waving her hand. A tree branch flew at Fate, knocking him off of her desk.

"Thank you for that kind welcome, Mother Nature. Father Time," he said, getting up and floating on the other side of the desk.

Father Time made a low sound in his throat, almost resembling a growl. He shut the time window he had been peering through, leaning heavily on his staff and serving Fate with a glare. "What do you want, Fate?"

"Same as you, old man. A follow up with the lovely Earth Lady here."

Now it was Mother Nature's turn to growl. "You know everything, Fate. Surely you know how my visit went."

He chuckled. "Sweet of you to assume I know everything, Tara."

"She is right," Father Time said through gritted teeth. "You know how things are fated. Surely you knew how the visit with the Frosts would go."

"Not quite. It was all very unpredictable; there were several different ways it could have gone. I'm here to confirm it went the  _right_  way."

"If by that you mean they fixed what Jack had done and then had a very good heart to heart ending in Winter's third thaw, then yes, it went very well," Mother Nature said, sipping her tea.

"Excellent. Now! Father Time." Fate turned to him, hands pressed together, grin on his face.

"Well, go on. You know what I don't know."

"I know," Fate smirked. "You're going to  _hate_  my answer."

"Good heavens," Mother Nature said, getting annoyed. Father Time shot her a reassuring look.

"It is a good thing…but only because it is a  _bad_  thing. The bad thing leads to the good thing."

"The thing in question being the shift I'm sensing?"

"Correct. With Mother Nature's visit ending the best possible way, everything is set in stone now for Jack's whole "evil" shtick to correct itself. Like I said, Tara, I made a mistake; now I'm fixing it."

"Good. Now is that all you wanted?"

"More or less, yes. I do so  _love_  seeing the both of you," he smirked, knowingly. "I however have other matters to attend to. Ta for now," he said, and with that, the smoke covered him, and he was gone. The forest brightened, the birds chirped again, and Mother Nature and Father Time  _both_  gave a heavy sigh of relief.

"I can't  _stand_  him, honestly."

"He is quite the bother," Father Time agreed. "But he did give us an answer. Not straightforward, of course, but when is he  _ever_?"

"Mmm," Mother Nature agreed, mouth full of tea.

"Now then," Father Time said, picking up his own cup. "Onto our next order of business. What do we do about Jack's job? He cannot do what he is supposed to do while he's up North."

"No, not really, and Spring is already itching for a green Christmas in the majority of North America."

"Do we enact the Legate Law?"

"No, we don't need to take those formalities. Winter will be more than happy to pick her usual duties up. After all, she's the one who takes care of the diplomatic parts of manning a season, not Jack. Jacqueline can pick up the slack and offer Winter a hand, but I think enacting the Legate Law is a little  _too_  much, don't you?"

Father Time smiled over his cup, his eyes twinkling. "Indeed. Well then, that about finishes things up here, doesn't it?"

"I believe so." Mother Nature got up, smoothing her simple skirt. She didn't have any official business today; there was no need for her extravagant gown to be on. "Thank you for dropping by, Father Time. I appreciate it."

He waved his hand. "Not to worry, my dear. It was my pleasure. Thank you for hosting me, and for the lovely tea."

"You're most welcome," she said, with a small bow.

Father Time returned it in kind. "I must get going. Time waits for no man, not even Time himself." And with a wink, Father Time disappeared silently, leaving Mother Nature in silence.

"Time waits for no woman either," she mussed, as she pictured Frost Manor and disappeared on the spot herself.

* * *

The family sat at the kitchen table, chatting up a storm and having their own tea time—that is, four o'clock coffee and cocoa. The twins giggled as Fino threw bite sized cookies at Fiera, who tried her best to catch them with her mouth. Blaise laughed at her efforts, encouraging the twins to one up it with the regular sized cookies.

"Those are too big!"

"No they're not, just watch. Winter! Cookie me, please!"

Winter smiled, grabbing the biggest cookie on the platter. "Ready?"

"For you? Always," he winked, opening his mouth. Winter grinned, tossing the cookie.

"Ta-da!" Blaise said around the cookie now securely clamped between his teeth.

" _Nice_ ," Fiera said.

Winter smiled, turning back to Jacqueline. "You were saying, dear?"

"It was wild! I couldn't believe how much snow had already fallen! I'm not even sure  _what_  the point of putting a snowstorm in the Amazon was. Poor thing, it was so confused."

"I can imagine. That's definitely not a place for a snowstorm and I'm  _sure_  Summer will be on my back about it the moment she finds out."

" _If_ she finds out," Mother Nature said, catching a cookie that flew her way.

"Mother Nature!" Blaise shouted, hiding the hand that had thrown the cookie. "What a surprise! I didn't even hear you knock!"

"The door opened up of its own accord," she said, taking a seat. "Please, no need to stand. I'm not here on business."

Looking relieved, Jacqueline and Winter sat back down. Blaise followed, picking up another cookie for himself. "What can we do for you, Mother Nature?"

"Cocoa?" Winter asked.

"No thank you, I'm just here for a brief moment," she said. "Though the cookies are delicious!"

"We made them ourselves!" Fiera shouted.

"Dad helped us with the batter," Fino added.

"But we cooked them! Ourselves! With our  _hands_!"

"Lovely job," Mother Nature said. "How are things going?"

"Well, thank you," Winter replied, smiling. "You were a great help yesterday, I've learnt. The kids were telling Blaise and I earlier how you had listened to them, and urged them to tell us what was bothering them."

"We had a good conversation," Blaise recalled, briefly warming his coffee again before having a sip.

"Mom and Dad told us not to be afraid to come to them anymore, even if it has to do with our  _dearest_  brother," Jacqueline said, frowning into her cocoa.

"Speaking of," Mother Nature began, "That's why I'm here. No! No, he didn't do anything to Santa, don't worry."

"I thought we were gonna have to fix another volcano, phew, that gave me a scare," Fino said, holding his chest. A cookie hit his eyebrow and fell onto his lap, Fiera laughing.

Mother Nature smiled. "No. He's limited to the Pole, which is what I needed to talk to you two about, specifically," Mother Nature said, Turing to Jacqueline and Winter. "Seeing as how he's staying up North, there's a bit of slack to pick up everywhere else, winter wise. If the two of you wouldn't mind lending a hand, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Of course, Mother! It's just a little more work than usual. Not a problem. Jacqueline will be a big help as well."

"You're enacting he Legate Law?" she asked.

"Not quite, that's a little too extreme. I'm just getting you and your Mother to take care of the areas he can't, seeing as how he's essentially stuck in the North Pole."

"Oh! Alright! Sounds fun," she grinned, nearly polishing off her cocoa.

"That's the spirit," Mother Nature smiled. "Now then, I think I've intruded quite enough."

"An intrusion? You? Why, never! Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

"Thank you for the offer, Blaise. But I do have a few things to take care of today. You five enjoy, and if you need anything, just shout," she winked.

"Shall we start tonight?" Winter asked.

"Ideally, yes. Your sister is already itching for a green Christmas, so the sooner the better."

Winter scoffed. "Of  _course_  she is. I'll show her a green Christmas alright," she said, eyes narrowed.

Mother Nature laughed. "I trust you will. Both of you. I'll be off now." And with a wave, Mother Nature made her way to the front door.

"Grandmother, wait!" Jacqueline called, chasing her into the hall. Mother Nature stopped by the door, catching Jacqueline as she slid on the tiles.

"Thanks. Fuzzy socks are cozy but don't have much traction."

"Marble floors don't help either."

"Exactly."

"What did you need, dear?"

"I just wanted to say thank you again, Mother Nature. I'm really happy that you helped us so much yesterday," she said, hugging the matriarch tightly.

"Awh, Jacqueline, no need to thank me," she said, hugging her back. "Really."

"Well, I appreciate it either way," she said, smiling.

Once again Mother Nature was struck by how unlike her brother Jacqueline really was. She smiled. "Well, I'm glad I could help you. Take care, okay? What I said is still true—if this doesn't go well, we'll be having a new Jack Frost shortly."

"Let's hope it goes well, then," Jacqueline said. "I don't know if I'm totally ready to attend Council meetings and deal with the "diplomatic" bits."

Mother Nature laughed, thinking of the bickering that came with most Council meetings. "Here's hoping. I'll see you later Jacqueline, okay? I'm very happy I could help."

"We all are," Jacqueline replied, watching as Mother Nature headed down the path and out the gate.

She turned around, waving to Jacqueline one last time before popping back to her garden.

All was well.

* * *

If there was one thing the great and powerful Jack Frost would never tell anyone, it was about the odd moments of clarity he got.

They happened much more frequently than he would have liked. He was a busy man, trying to make himself known all  _over_  again thanks to  _Santa_. He didn't have  _time_  for his conscience to suddenly kick in and say "hey, maybe you should  _not_  do that thing you're doing".

Usually they only lasted a second or two before that thought would suddenly freeze and he would go back on his merry way, plotting and what have you. Sometimes they lasted longer, and he would hesitate. Remember certain things that he would rather  _not_  remember.

On a very rare occasion, they were  _way_  too long for his liking. Long enough that he would think a  _lot_  about those things he'd rather not think about. Long enough that he would make a snowball and think about seeing his family—and be able to see them, whatever they were doing, wherever they were—a handy trick he had picked up.

Usually before he could really reflect on how upset they looked, or what was going on, his conscience would suddenly freeze and Jack would drop the snowball and carry on, moment of clarity gone.

But this time? This time, it was lasting very long. It didn't help that Curtis had already made a snowball and passed it to him: Jack was already halfway there, thanks to the elf.

He stopped tossing the snowball up and down, staring into it. The snowball showed him right away what he wanted to see—but it wasn't what he expected.

There was his sister, rushing back into the house and almost crashing into his Mother. She was smiling—smiling? And gave Jacqueline a very big hug. His father joined them, grabbing them both and lifting them off their feet. Jack could tell it was quite the hug. They laughed together, and Jack had seen enough.

_Look at them_ , something whispered in his head.  _They're so happy without you…you don't need them! We have more important things to do, now that we have the information we need_.

Just like that, the moment of clarity was gone. He brought the snowball down and headed towards the Workshop. They didn't need him. And-and he didn't need them either! His conscience frozen once more, Jack dropped the snowball into the snow as he climbed the stairs, heading into the building.

_Time to find that Hall of Snow Globes_ , he thought, determined now more than ever to  _finally_  reclaim what should be his.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to sound dramatic (I say, totally intending to sound dramatic), but writing this chapter and finishing it when I did healed the awful hurt the original version of the chapter had caused in the first place, w o w. What a difference! You're all getting the good shit right away, what a relief!
> 
> I really liked the way this chapter turned out. There's something about the scene between Mother Nature and Father Time that just really works for me. Thoughts guys, gals, and non-binary pals? Do comment, or go over to ff.net and review, or message me on tumblr with your thoughts--whatever makes you feel the most comfortable! I hope you enjoyed this story, and look! i even threw Jack in at the end! Meet the Frosts takes place during tsc3. There's 2 more stories I have that follow MtF, which lays the groundwork for my big Story--Crystal Springs--which is posted to chapter 21 on ff.net if you're eager! There's also a story in between MtF and CS that goes over Jack's reign as Santa--and Jacqueline's reign as Jack Frost in the Santa Jack AU. I think I'll post that next, but probably when I've completed it.
> 
> Take care everyone! I hope you are all doing well, and that you all enjoyed this fic!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there, new readers and friends! I finally caved and decided to put the first of the Crystal Springs Series (as I have just decided to name it) on ao3. So this is an incredibly new format and stomping ground for me, to be quite honest! 
> 
> So yeah. Ao3, meet the very first story of my huge head canon for Jack and his family-Meet the Frosts! Whenever I watched the third movie, I always wondered how the volcano, geese, snowstorm in the Amazon and Frostmas thing were fixed. It got me thinking, and I ended up creating a family for Jack Frost and background to how he’s portrayed in the movie, as well as what was a whole city filled with the type of legends and myths that we all know about (that is now basically it's own continent), along with an intricate system of helpers for Mother Nature! So yeah, there will be quite the amount of OC’s, but I worked on this series for seven years before I finally perfected it and decided to put it up. It's well loved on ff.net so hopefully you all love it here, too!
> 
> I love to hear from readers so please...comment or whatever it's called here (new to the site ;D) and drop me a line! I love love LOVE hearing from my readers!
> 
> I'll probably start updating it come December. I mean, it's already complete but this is a Christmas movie so I suppose in December, much like on ff, the category gets active again!


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